Not so, the program was quoted at being ~£11.5 billion for a 13 ship program and represented the program out to 2030+ rather than the cost as-is today.
) Whether it's the right choice,no one knows untill the boats are in the water and you'll be able to see the actual performance.Oh it will happen or we will go to the next source (Just my opinion), We learnt enough from the Collin's class issues to know that we need to have full and independent control to do as we please with our submarines or we suffer for it.
Absolutely. Type 45 - with innovative propulsion, new radar, new CMS, new missiles, etc. cost £6.5 billion for 6 ships including development.
We will see mate, you have a long way to go until the final agreement is signed and of course everyone is entitled to his or her opinion They have extremely powerful labour unions who will insist on keeping a considerable portion of manufacturing in France , so in the end you are lucky if they let you build 8 subs entirely in Australia. Besides, its also difficult to imagine that they would provide you with all the technical details of their highly advanced Sonar technology and electronics to be produced under licence in Australia ,instead , they will insist on delivering most of the high tech components directly from French manufacturing as they did with India with regard to RAFALE !!! and when you realize this it might be too late to go to the next source and this is my opinion .
That's not what I have read, one of the main points was the French not wanting to provide warranty support for planes built in India where they would have no control over the build.
Exactly, plenty of the cost of the Type 26 could - to a cynical mind - be written off as part of the Type 23 CSP as a creative measure to reduce the cost.
That was my take as well. Hell that is holding up a lot of Indian contracts, hell they had that idiotic provision in a 127mm naval gun contract then were surprised when there were no bidders!
Napoleonic Wars the British(and the colony of NSW) were allies with the Germans and enemys of the French.
nfloorl:
well, the poms burnt down the presidents house as well, good thing they haven't held a grudgeWe had better buy nothing but British or American from now on, no wait we can't buy American either they fought a war against Britain in 1812 when we were a colony. We won't be able to buy anything built in Scotland either.
No we won't be able to buy off the Kiwis either, the under-arm incident very nearly started a warwell, the poms burnt down the presidents house as well, good thing they haven't held a grudge
the canadians have also had a whack at the americans in the 19th Cent
looks like aust and nz would be restricted to buying from each other....
We have actually being buying German Military equipment for decades including Leopard 1 MTBs in the 70s, Unimog trucks in the 80s, Anzac Frigates in the 90s, Tiger and MRH-90s (they are as much German as French) in the 2000s and G Wagons today. And the ADF buys non Military specific Japanese equipment all the time. The Army bought a number of Toyata Landcruisers back in the 80s to make up for a lack of Landrovers prior to the 110s being delivered. Where i grew up in the 60s i heard a lot of anti Japanese hatred but nowhere near as much anti-German.
OT but I would like to point out that when Tony Blair was in DC to address a joint meeting of Congress in 2003, Senator Frist showed the PM were invading British troops had burnt the Library of Congressional in 1814. So, some might still be holding a slight grudge...well, the poms burnt down the presidents house as well, good thing they haven't held a grudge
the canadians have also had a whack at the americans in the 19th Cent
looks like aust and nz would be restricted to buying from each other....
While land area it's self it is close in size (Roughly 200,000 sqm vs the 240,000 sqm in Syndey) a few area's it will run into trouble is Sydney is also home to quite a few supporting bases, If you move FBE then you also have to move all the other's if you want to maintaine the same level of capability and productivity.
I would also like to think there was a very long term picture re SEA 1000 in developing our manufacturing base and skill set. Your correct in that Australias population will grow in the years ahead, so this submarine progran will transend a bigger Australia in the following decades.These are important big picture considerations....The RAN ambition of 12 submarines is greater than the fleet size of either the Royal Navy or France today. Maybe opton F will prove an intelligent move in preparing Australia manufacturing and training for the decades to come
Andrew and I had some philosophical disagreements on some of the options...
still, none of the details around the ultimate NSC decisions will come out for at least 30 years.
I recently spent a short holiday at Nelson's Bay - There was a brief display at the lighthouse museum there regarding the historic debate in the RN on the location of China Station. The short list ended up between Singapore and Port Stephens.
Location look's, Not much traffic but then that also work's against it since in this case there is absolutely nothing there, Everything need's to be built from scratch making it more expensive then going to Brisbane.. Sadly unless the government is willing to cough up the money I don't see FBE ever moving.