8 Nuclear Powered Submarines for Australia.
Our Nuclear Submarine Programme
Let's put it in perspective:
In 2002, 19 YEARS AGO, our Government signed up for
The F-35a AIRCRAFT PROGRAMME
currently we have received about half the number of the 72 airplanes on order:
After 19 years we've got ONLY 37 out of the 72 on order!
All 72 aircraft are expected to be fully operational by 2023, with an option to expand the fleet to a maximum of 100 aircraft.
Pushed by the US Government and defence heavyweight Lockheed Martin, the F-35s were in the design phase when Australia committed in 2002 to buy up to 100 of them.
The cost was originally estimated at $16 billion.
Each airplane individually costs about $78 million, But the cost of each plane is only a fraction of the cost of the entire programme including personnel, training, upgrades, maintainance etc.
So if we get 72 of them for $16 Billion or even $20 Billion that's not too bad is it?
well, Not bad compared with $89 Billion contract for the now cancelled french subs which were originally going to cost only $49 Billion!
What will the real cost of our 8 Nuclear subs be?
how long will it take for them to be delivered, whether one at a time, or in total?
will any of them arrive and be operational before we get to engage in a looming war with china?
our wonderful pm has indicated that we must be ready to increase spending on defence.
some commentators have foresahdowed an increase in spending from 2% of our total budget to 3% or 4%
but how can we know what it might eventually be?
There is one thing we know for certain:
the mighty USA needs customers like us dummies in australia to keep its massive armaments industry afloat. Just as it needs tension with china to keep everyone of its allies focussed on purchasing its new planes and subs and whatever else.
This is because the United States of America is the home of the most massive industry for the production and sales of armaments around the world.
producing and selling armaments is crucial to the economy of the USA.
sadly, our smarmy pm, whose name the us president couldn't even remember, is very happy to take on china on behalf of the us, to jeopardise all of our business interests with china , and to sell us into expensive military programmes for the forseeable future.
what a debacle! why are australians so dumb?
why do we elect such fuckwits for our ministers and PM, people who have so totally mismanaged the covid crisis, whichever way you look at it, from the perspective of inadequate quarantine facilities, the incredibly slow vaccine rollout, management of aged care facilities, etc.
a bunch of cronies who love to suck up to the us and support every weapons programme they can talk us into!
Yes, there will be huge economic benefits for australia!
Yes, south australia will be the main state to benfit very greatly from these new arrangements, and I certainly do not begrudge them a bit of an economic lift.
also, there will be many other benefits flowing to some other states and territories.
there will be a lot of strife from opponents of nuclear power (only for submarines?) being based so close to some of our cities.
but let us not make any mistake about this deal:
the main beneficiary of this deal for the next half century is the USA, both politically and in business investment terms, and whatever fallouts we may experience by being their allies, as in afghanistan, just go with the territory of sucking up to the biggest kides on the block.
pt.
NOTES:
Here's a background article from "The Australian" on the F35 "stealth fighter"
DEFENCE SPECIAL REPORT
F-35A Lightning II: Supersonic stealth fighter ready to strike
The Royal Australian Air Force’s F-35A Lightning II acquisition program has enjoyed a busy year despite the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.May 22, 2021
The Royal Australian Air Force’s F-35A Lightning II acquisition program has enjoyed a busy year despite the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since September 2020, the RAAF has continued to accept new aircraft from the Lockheed Martin production line Fort Worth, Texas, participated in major air combat exercises at home and overseas, and declared an Initial Operational Capability (IOC) on schedule in December 2020.
Other milestones during the period include the successful migration of pilot and maintenance personnel from the US to Australia, the start of the transition process for the second operational fighter squadron, and the induction of the first aircraft into an Australian facility for heavy maintenance work.
Australia is acquiring 72 Lockheed Martin F-35As under Air 6000 Phase 2A/2B and 37 aircraft have now been accepted and delivered to RAAF Williamtown, north of Sydney.
However further deliveries during 2021 are expected to be impacted by supply chain problems attributable to COVID-19.
“There are some forecast delays for some aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2021, with most expected to be delivered no more than two months later than contracted,” a Defence spokesperson said.
By the end of 2020, 45 pilots and 600 maintenance personnel had completed their training in the US. Following completion of the transition of training to Australia during 2020, full-scale pilot courses are now underway at Williamtown and the first candidates are expected to graduate in July this year.
To support training into the future, Lockheed Martin Australia was awarded a $5m sovereign Training Support Services contract in December 2020, which will oversee the operation and maintenance support of six F-35 Full Mission Simulators at Williamtown and installation and operation of four similar devices at Tindal, in the Northern Territory, for up to five years.
The IOC declaration on December 28 last year also marked the point in the program where the first fighter squadron has completed its transition to the 5th-generation aircraft and can now be deployed on operations.
In a statement to mark the occasion then defence minister Linda Reynolds said it represented the culmination of two years of rigorous validation and verification testing that assessed aircraft and system performance.
“The ADF now has an F-35A squadron ready to conduct technologically advanced strike and air combat roles, and another squadron dedicated to providing world-class training here in Australia,” Ms Reynolds said.
While the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have hampered the RAAF’s participation in multilateral exercises, the F-35A has nevertheless performed well in two major training serials.
The first was Exercise Lightning Storm, held on the east coast of Australia in August-September last year, which was designed to test the capabilities of the F-35A while sustaining a high rate of effort.
This local exercise was followed by Exercise Lightning Spear, held at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida in October 2020, in which RAAF F-35As operated concurrently from three different locations.
“Working with the United States Air Force provided important military-to-military engagement opportunities for air force to build on our shared understanding of a platform we both operate,” explained Group Captain John Haly, Officer Commanding No.81 Wing, in a statement after the exercise concluded.
In February the first F-35A was inducted into BAE Systems’ maintenance facility at Williamtown, which is slated to also become the Southern Pacific Regional Heavy Airframe Depot.
The second RAAF fighter squadron began its transition to the F-35A in January and the final operational unit, based at Tindal, will retire its F/A-18A/B Hornets in December 2021. Final Operational Capability (FOC) for the F-35A is expected to occur before the end of 2023.
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