Australia and Japan have signed a cooperative research arrangement on marine hydrodynamics, but Chief Defence Scientist Dr Alex Zelinsky said this is not connected to the current Competitive Evaluation Process for the Sea 1000 Future Submarine program.
The Japanese Government is one of three contenders for the program, final bids for which were submitted on 30 November.
“This is the first joint defence research project to be conducted by our two countries,” Zelinsky said.
The collaborative research program will be undertaken by Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group and Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency.
“Understanding hydrodynamics is vital for the future of Australia’s maritime defence and this collaboration will greatly benefit our technology development in this area," Zelinsky said.
“While the research being undertaken is not connected to the Competitive Evaluation Process currently underway to assess Australia’s future submarine needs, the results from the research will have broad applicability to Australia’s future maritime projects.”
The collaborative research program will involve experimental work at facilities in Japan as well as at the DST Group laboratory in Melbourne and the Australian Maritime College (AMC) in the University of Tasmania.
It is well known that the Australian Maritime Hydrodynamic Research Centre at the AMC has been conducting important research with the DST Group on the implications of hydrodynamics on submarine design. It has considerable infrastructure at its disposal, including a Cavitation Tunnel which assists researchers to develop improved hydro-elastic responses of submarine control surfaces. The 100 metre-long Towing Tank is also used to test models including those of semi-submersibles and submarines.
Dr Zelinsky said researchers from both countries had already visited each other’s facilities and scoped the collaborative work to be undertaken.
“Our defence scientists are very excited at the prospect of working with their Japanese counterparts and look forward to achieving some innovative outcomes for Australia’s maritime defence,” Dr Zelinsky said.