Australia’s future surface fleet will feature a new class of 7-11 general purpose frigates plus only six of the nine planned Hunter-class frigates configured for anti-submarine warfare.
The long-awaited surface combatant fleet review also recommends acquisition of six Large Optionally Crewed Surface Vessels (LOSVs).
These would be acquired through formal engagement with the US Navy but constructed in Australia. Each would be equipped with 32 Vertical Launching System cells providing enhanced lethality for anti-air warfare and surface strike.
There will be some significant enhancements. The DDG Aegis combat system will be upgraded from baseline eight to nine as a matter or urgency while the Hunters will be equipped with capability to launch Tomahawk missiles.
Planning for eventual replacement of the DDGs will get under way in the context of the 2026 National Defence Strategy.
“The independent analysis emphasised immediate and timely action is necessary to remediate Navy’s surface combatant capability and support Australia’s continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment industry,” said Defence Minister Richard Marles in his introduction to the Review.
Under current planning, Navy was to acquire 12 Arafura-class Offshore Patrol Vessels, but the Review says the OPV is an inefficient use of resources for civil maritime security operations and does not possess the survivability and self-defence systems to contribute to a surface combatant mission.
Consequently, the number of OPVs will be reduced to six, with their role focused on civil maritime security operations and enhanced regional engagement in the Southwest Pacific and maritime Southeast Asia.
That will leave a force of 25 minor war vessels, consisting of the six Arafuras, eight Evolved Cape class patrol boats (ECCPBs) for the Navy and 11 ECCPBs for Australian Border Force.
Under earlier plans, the Tier 1 surface combatant fleet would comprise three Hobart-class destroyers and nine Hunter-class frigates (now six), replacing the eight elderly Anzac-class frigates.
Some Anzacs will now be progressively retired while the rest are upgraded.
Undersea warfare and multi-domain strike capability of those Anzacs chosen to remain in service will be enhanced through their planned Transition Capability Assurance Program. That will ensure they maintain minimum viable capability for the Tier 2 mission until replaced by the new Tier 2 surface combatants
“The reduction in Tier 1 surface combatants from 12 to nine necessitates the acceleration of the replacement Destroyer to ensure continuous naval shipbuilding at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia. The initial requirements setting and design work will need to commence by mid-2027,” the Review said.
In its response to the Review, the Government said it agreed that in addition to Hunter-class frigates, optimised for undersea warfare, and upgraded Hobart-class destroyers, new general purpose frigates were needed.
“The Government will accelerate the acquisition of 11 general purpose frigates to deliver capability sooner and address the risk presented by an ageing and increasingly fragile surface combatant fleet,” it said.
Already four types of vessel have been identified as potentially meeting Australia’s needs – the German Meko A-200, an updated variant of the Anzacs, the Spanish Navantia ALFA3000 and, notably, the Japanese Mogami 30FFM and Korean Daegu class FFX Batch II and III.
These are all vessels in the 3000-plus tonnes class, significant larger than the corvettes pitched to the RAN following the Defence Strategic Review.
The independent analysis stemmed from the Defence Strategic Review released last April. It was conducted by retired US States Navy Vice Admiral William Hilarides, assisted by the former Secretary of the Australian Department of Finance Rosemary Huxtable, and former Commander Australian Fleet Vice Admiral Stuart Mayer.
The review found that the current and planned surface combatant fleet was not appropriate for the strategic environment Australia now faced.
The Royal Australian Navy major surface combatants - three Hobarts and eight Anzacs - was the oldest fleet Navy has operated in its history.
“It made clear we need a surface fleet of warships with greater capability in integrated air and missile defence, multi-domain strike and undersea warfare,” Marles said.
“These are the capabilities needed to support critical activities, including patrolling our northern approaches, close escort and theatre sea lift missions.”
Further, the Review found more than $25 billion in unfunded cost pressures in the surface fleet acquisition and sustainment program.
Marles said that in realising this plan, the Government had committed to increasing Defence’s funding in the 2024-25 Federal Budget over the next decade to ensure the enhanced lethality surface combatant fleet was fully funded.
“This includes injecting a further $11.1 billion of additional funding over the next decade to support the realisation of the enhanced lethality surface combatant fleet,” he said.