The front page leader of the Weekend Australian is an exclusive (leaks) about the content of the upcoming DWP, along with the usual whack at the government for ignoring News Limited's advice.
Anyway...new builds
8 Submarines, option maybe for four more in the future
9 Frigates
10 OCV/OPV with four? "multirole" versions down the track
No mention of the bread and butter stuff like tankers, LCH replacements and so on because they don't fit the narrative about spending everything on Navy to protect against China, while leaving the Army with half as much armour as they expected.
And...the accusation that the reason the DWP will now be released in November is because the Government shipbuilding plan changed the entire basis of the DWP.
(EDIT: This is portrayed as a large expansion of Navy, which I'd suggest is bollocks)
oldsig
Just in case someone in this forum cannot by-pass the cookies for the subscription.
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$70bn defence boost builds sea defences
The Australian
September 12, 2015 12:00AM
Australia’s new defence blueprint will commit more than $70 billion to create the most powerful navy in Australia’s history — including eight new submarines and 12 new warships — but will come at a cost to the army, which will have fewer armoured vehicles for future operatio*ns.
The heavy emphasis on maritime power ahead of land forces in the forthcoming defence white paper reflects ongoing concern about the pace and scale of China’s growing naval capabilities, although the document is not expected to concede publicly that there is a connection.
The decision to choose eight submarines instead of the Abbott government’s election promise of 12 new boats is likely to anger South Australia but it is understood that the white paper will keep open the possibility of a further four submarines being built at a later date.
The white paper process has been thrown into turmoil by Tony Abbott’s decision last month to shore up votes in South Australia by announcing a naval shipbuilding plan at odds with that recommended by defence.
Faced with disastrous polling in that state, the Prime Minister brought forward the construction of the navy’s future frigates in Adelaid*e and new offshore patrol vessels to reduce shipbuilding job losses in South Australia.
But the move caused havoc for defence planners, who have had to rewrite much of the white paper to accommodate the rescheduled shipbuilding program and have delayed the release of the policy blueprint, due last month, until early November.
The Weekend Australian under*stands the draft calls for the strongest naval force yet seen in this country and will include eight new 4000-tonne submarines, nine new large frigates, the three Air Warfare Destroyers being built and 10 new larger offshore patrol vessel*s, with a further four multi-role OPVs at a later date.
It says the naval build-up is needed in the face of continued uncertainty in the South China Sea, where Beijing has competing territorial claims with Japan and other nations, and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region.
The white paper will not publicly single out China as a potential threat but the navy-first strategy of the white paper reflects concerns inside defence about Beijing’s double-digit defence spending in recent years.
China is investing heavily in new warships and submarines as Beijing seeks the ability to project power well beyond its waters.
At the same time, the document will foreshadow enhanced defence co-operation with the US, including more US marines rotations through Darwin and greater access in northern Australia for the US Air Force.
The government says its white paper will be fully costed, unlike Labor’s 2013 white paper, and will outline real increases in defence spending to take it above the government’s promised 2 per cent of GDP by 2023-24.
However, the $70bn price tag of the new naval forces over the next 20 years has forced Defence to make cuts in other areas, with the size of the army’s planned new armoured fighting vehicle fleet to be reduced.
Under the so-called Land 400 project, worth at least $10bn, the army is replacing its 253 Australian Light Armoured Vehicles, which have seen service in *Afghanistan, Iraq and East Timor, with 225 combat recon*naissance vehicles.
But it is the second phase of this program, the replacement of the 1960s-era M113 armoured personnel carriers, that will be hit by the cuts.
The army was hoping to acquire* about 450 hi-tech infantry fighting vehicles from 2025 to replace* the 700 M113s, but this number will now be reduced.
Former army chief Lieutenant General David Morrison warned in May that his “major concern’’ was that there could be cuts to Land 400, given the big-ticket naval and air force projects and the end of major land operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Army too needs to have *proper and appropriate funding for Land 400 because, if we don’t have that, you’re going to have soldiers operating in theatres in the future where they simply don’t have the protection, the mobili*ty and the firepower that they will need,” he said.
The Royal Australian Air Force will be greatly strength*ened, with the RAAF winning support for its planned 72 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, and the decision on a further 28 fighters delayed until next decade.
For the first time, the RAAF will acquire giant unmanned *Triton drones, capable of patrolling about 100,000sq km of ocean, to help monitor Australia’s maritime approaches.
The white paper will also include plans to purchase Australia’s first armed drones.
The decision to initially build eight submarines rather than 12 reflects concerns that a 12-boat program would distort defence budget priorities and swallow up funds needed for other important capabilities.
Navy would also struggle to crew a 12-boat fleet.
Although Defence Minister Kevin Andrews or Tony Abbott could still change the numbers in the draft white paper, all recent meetings inside Defence on new submarines have discussed an eight-boat fleet.
The nations competing for the right to design the new submarines — Germany, France and Japan — have been told to base costings and building schedules on eight submarines.
The construction of the submarines from the mid-2020s is expected to cost about $20bn, with a further $40bn in sustainment costs over their lifetime.
The government will decide early next year which country will design the submarines and where they will be built.
The nine new frigates will also cost $20bn and will be much large than the 3500-tonne Anzacs they will replace. The British Type 26 Global Defence Ship is considered the frontrunner, but the large German F125-class and the French FREMM multi-mission vessel are also likely contenders.
The white paper will call for the $19bn construction of 10 new OPVs, to be known as Corvettes, to be followed by four multi-role Corvettes, which can also hunt mines and do hydrographic tasks. They will be substantially larger than the 13 Armidale-class patrol boats they are replacing. The navy is also about to receive the second of its two large amphibious Landing Helicopter Docks, giving it the ability to move large supplies of troops and equipment.
