If a decision is made to increase the fleet of OPVs this would be the obvious choice. Mind you, I'd have Mk.41 cells for ESSM.
IMO the price for the
Arafura-class OPV's was already a bit high for an OPV, some AUD$300 mil. per vessel had the original build plan been carried out. Taking the OPV90 design and then having it modified to be similar to the corvettes that Bulgaria is building would just be even more expensive, yet not have the capabilities or reach of the frigates that Australia has, is building, and will be building more of or having built overseas. That is also before one takes into consideration how long it would take for Australia to start receiving these proposed vessels, or how long it would take to get them into service once the RAN receives them.
It looks like it will have taken Bulgaria ~five years from cutting first steel, to the lead vessel's entry into service, and again this is for work being done in Bulgaria at an active yard. If Australia were to place an order now, without any detailed design work getting done, then we would likely be looking at first delivery being some time in ~2030, and that is assuming that there is available yard space overseas and any long-lead items are readily available. If memory serves, the lead RAN
Mogami-class frigate to be built in Japan is expected to enter service in 2030 and that at least has already been ordered. What would people rather the RAN focus on? Getting new FFG's into service, or getting new FSG's into service? Similarly, what would people rather Australian yards and naval construction industries focus on, building the
Hunter-class and
Mogami-class frigates, or some new class of corvette? Lastly, what would people rather the RAN crew, guided missile frigates and destroyers, or guided missile corvettes? After all, a guided missile corvette crew is likely to be a little smaller than that of a frigate, but there will need to be some of the same specialist personnel which are already in short supply in the RAN?
Something people still seem to keep forgetting, or perhaps not understanding, is that one needs to look several years into the future when talking about ordering and having new vessels, especially warships, get designed and then built. There would also likely be a few years of work required before construction even begins and consideration also needs to be given to what personnel and facilities are already getting tasked to do.
