Source: NewsCorp
Posted on 07/23/2015 6:16:49 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
A Japanese government team is in talks with at least two top British firms to help a Japanese consortium land one of the world's most lucrative defence contracts, sources in Tokyo said, a $50 billion (£32 billion) project to build submarines for Australia.
Germany's ThyssenKrupp (TKMS), a rival bidder, is wooing anxious members of Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s ruling Liberal Party with the economic and political benefits of its proposal.
Two Japanese government officials and a company source in Tokyo said Babcock International Group and BAE Systems had approached the consortium of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries with offers of help. Other British defence contractors may also be involved, they said.
All three sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Both Babcock and BAE declined to say whether they would work with the consortium, the builders of Japan's 4,000-ton Soryu diesel-electric submarine, on the Australian project.
A spokesman for Japan's defence ministry said the Japanese bidders were responding to Australia's desire to have as much local participation as possible in the project.
"With Mitsubishi Heavy taking the lead, we are gathering information from both Japanese and foreign companies in regard to Australian industry but we are unable to disclose any specific names," the spokesman said.
Both Babcock and BAE Systems are well established in Australia. Industry sources in Europe said any decision by Babcock to work with the Japanese bid could unsettle TKMS and France's state-controlled naval contractor DCNS, which is also in the fray for the submarine contract.
Babcock does maintenance work on Australia's Collins-class submarines, including the torpedo tubes and other parts of its weapons system.
(Excerpt) Read more at uk.reuters.com ...
Source: NewsCorp
Thats an old fashioned propeller right there. Must be quite noisy.
The Aussies are looking at a submarine replacement for their Collins-class boats that will be about twice the displacement and around 90 meters in length. Range should be as good as the Collins-class or improved. The Japanese Soryu-class falls short in range behind the Collins-class, Type 216, or Barracuda-class boats.
AIP, while being a force multiplier, complicates logistics and raises life-cycle costs as a sub effectively has 2 propulsion systems. I’d argue the real coming revolution is lithium ion batteries, which Japan is investing in and all the other contenders are working on. You get higher endurance with a shorter logistics footprint.
While the Soryu may have the least range, it’s the lowest risk option as both Euro designs are still concepts with neither having built a conventional boat of that size.
It’s not like there’s no operational experience with AIP. There are the German fuel cell submarine classes Type 209, Type 212, and Type 214 boars; Sterling cycle engines used in the Swedish Gottland, Sondermanland, and A26 classes; and closed cycle steam turbines (MESMA) used in French Agosta 90B and Scorpène-class submarines. We shall see.
(Yes, the US knows what it is, because they helped design it - which is probably one reason why it's kept so secret - Americans understandably really don't like their allies leaking their secrets.)
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