Maintenance and Upgrades: Improving the Collins submarines

1 July 2007

By Tom Muir

The Collins-class submarines are already highly capable and will undergo a Continuous Improvement Program, including combat system enhancements and modifications to support Special Forces operations, throughout their lives.

The ongoing support and maintenance of the Collins class submarine fleet is a major undertaking and involves a budget currently worth nearly $850 million spread over two distinct project phases.

In December 2003, ASC signed a separate $3.5 billion contract for the through-life support of the Collins Class submarines over 25 years. The contract assigned ASC responsibility for the design, maintenance and enhancement of the Collins-class until the end of their operational life-cycle.

Phase 3 of Sea 1439, Collins Continuous Improvement Program (CIP), comprises a series of sustainability and reliability enhancements, which include a large number of discrete modifications to the submarines and the shore infrastructure.

These improvements are being introduced progressively over a number of years and are fitted to submarines during appropriate maintenance availabilities when the modification packages become available.

As the modifications require extensive design and integration within the platform, they can only be completed during full cycle dockings (FCD), which currently occur at 7-year cycles. Hence the completion of the entire Phase 3 program, which is dependant on the submarines' FCD program, will not occur until 2015.

The Phase 3 program includes modifications for special forces. Submarines add most value when deployed early in any expeditionary campaign, where they may play a key role in advance of amphibious forces, shaping the above water and undersea battlespace.

With an advanced environmental sensor package, they can monitor and report oceanographic conditions in their operating area, contributing to rapid environmental assessment (REA) of the chosen area of interest.

They can also sanitise the area to locate and identify all contacts, monitor enemy activity and patterns of maritime traffic, and contribute to advanced mine countermeasures and covert beach reconnaissance operations.

Part of this role may also see submarines deploy special forces to conduct shaping operations ashore. In this event, the submarine will maintain communications with special forces, continuing to support them through provision of tactical intelligence from own or third-party sensors, and if necessary, re-supply or extraction.

The Collins class submarines are also potent surveillance and reconnaissance assets, and can be used in an intelligence role or to provide indications and warnings from close by the source of a threat, such as an airfield or harbour.

Submarines provide the most clandestine means of inserting and extracting special forces, either fully dived in the highest threat environment or using 'float on/float off' techniques for dinghies by briefly surfacing in lower-threat environments.

The prototype special forces capability modifications, which include exterior shelters for inflatable boats, have been implemented on HMAS Collins as part of a 'staged delivery' system development life cycle to minimise risk and to match ASC design and production capacity.

Other modifications under this phase cover an upgrade to the automated sewage system, now implemented on HMAS Waller during its full cycle docking, and which will be installed on the remaining submarines at their full cycle dockings.

Modifications aimed at improving fire fighting safety are currently being fitted to HMAS Dechaineux and will then be implemented on the rest of the fleet. These modifications were too extensive for implementation on HMAS Farncomb during its recent shorter mid-cycle docking.

Subsequent phases of the CIP will see a new direction in the through-life management of submarine capability through the provision of regular capability upgrades rather than having a mid-life upgrade for the class. Activities under the program include:

* installation of additional third generation propellers already prototyped under an earlier phase

* the class fit of multi-functional communications antenna and mast, also prototyped under an earlier phase

* the class fit of a UHF satellite communications antenna and mast

* sub-microwave ESM upgrade

* upgrade of the submarines' sonar system

The major upgrade to the Collins Class involves replacement of the tactical component of the combat system by the AN/BYG-1 tactical command and control system, sonar control and display upgrades, plus system and navigation improvements.

While the developmental risk associated with the AN/BYG-1 is shared with the US Navy, the Commonwealth assumes the risk associated with Collins-specific aspects of the AN/BYG-1 and the remainder of the sonar and navigation upgrades, including system integration risks.

A major part of the RCS is being procured from the US Navy, initially via a Foreign Military Sales case signed in June 2003 which saw the procurement of five AN/BYG-1 systems.

Of these one was for the Australian test facility, one for the US test facility at the Naval Undersea Weapons Center, one for DSTO research and two systems for the first two submarines to be converted.

The remaining four boat systems and upgrades to the shore systems are being acquired under the separate Armaments Cooperative Project (ACP) arrangement with the USN. Under this cooperative program Raytheon US and General Dynamics will provide the systems and the ongoing development of the combat system.

A key element of the ACP is the use of COTS technology updates to manage obsolescence and related integrated logistic support by incremental replacement. With the hardware improvement comes increased processing power which enables incremental improvement to system software capability.

Improvements for Australian submarines under this continuous improvement program will focus on improved user displays, operator useability, tactical situation awareness and the early integration of the Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) torpedo capability.

Multi-function system hardware including servers, displays, harnesses and smaller components from Australian-based suppliers are being delivered progressively.

Delivery of fully tested USN tactical software, and subsequently the start of the full integration at the land-based Integration Test and Training Facility (ITTF) was effected in December 2005 with initial integration of Australian supplied equipment and software commencing in September 2005 as planned. RCS integration was completed as scheduled in April 2006.

Acceptance of the ITTF as a fully integrated and tested system was achieved as planned in August 2006. The ITTF is operated by the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) during the integration, test and initial training phases of the project and then shared with the Navy for on-going training and development.
Combat system integration.

The approved acquisition strategy identified Raytheon Australia Pty Ltd (RAPL) as the integration support contractor and ASC Pty Ltd as the submarine installation contractor. Under a $54 million contract signed in August 2003 RAPL is tasked to design, develop and produce hardware and software to support the installation and integration of the combat system into the submarines.

Under its through life support agreement orders, ASC has been working on platform modification design and preparatory work for the installation of the RCS. The first order for the installation of the RCS (on HMAS Waller) was placed with ASC, a task completed in late 2006.

Earlier this year Prime Minister John Howard and Defence Minister Brendan Nelson were treated to a simulated attack on a 'hostile warship' during a visit to HMAS Waller, following the installation of the new combat system and its new weapon, the MK48 ADCAP (CBASS) heavy weight torpedo.

The new torpedo has been under joint development by the USN and the RAN under the Armaments Cooperative Project and among other enhancements has been optimised for shallow water hunting in the littoral.

HMAS Waller has now commenced post-FCD sea trials, including an extensive period of operational testing, prior to acceptance. The current schedule is to achieve Interim Operational Release (IOR) by the end of third quarter 2007.

The next submarines to receive the new combat system and weapon will be HMAS Farncomb during its mid-cycle docking over 2007-08 and HMAS Dechaineux during its FCD next year. Platforms will be progressively upgraded on a scheduled availability basis with all submarines upgraded by the end of the decade.

By 2015 the Collins submarine fleet will not only have reached full operational capability but will have been subject to ongoing improvements to systems, sensors and combat capabilities.

On 22 June 2006, approval was given to proceed to Full Rate Production for the MK 48 Advanced Capability Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (ADCAP CBASS) Mod 7 heavyweight torpedo.

The torpedo is a product of a joint engineering, development, manufacturing and support project between Australia and the US and will be the primary weapon aboard both nations' submarines.

This important milestone demonstrates the continuing success of the joint program, highlighting the development and operational testing carried out in Australia as well as the work of Australia's weapons facility in WA in building up the weapons for test.

This was demonstrated in test firings in December 2005 in a shallow water environment off the Western Australian coast by a USN submarine against the RAN's world-class Collins diesel submarines.

The joint operational test activity demonstrated the extent to which the two countries utilise each others' capabilities and assets to develop and test a state of the art weapon. From weapons assembly, to firing, to data analysis, the USN together with the RAN performed the international testing in harmony.

Modifications to HMAS Waller, the first submarine to be converted to handle and fire the new weapon, are progressing to schedule during its current FCD. Initial sea trials are scheduled for mid 2007. Cooperating with the USN means the RAN has the opportunity to influence design and development of the systems and to participate in a continuous improvement program to deliver the latest technology advances for Australia's submarine fleet.