The Australian Surface Fleet Dilemma & Tier 2 – Naval News Analysis
In essence government was seeking to resolve concerns over the recapitalisation of the eight strong ANZAC-class commissioned in the 1990s. The ANZAC-class, based on the original German TKMS MEKO 200-design, emerged in response to the RAN-need for an affordable multirole frigate produced in cooperation with New Zealand. The effort designated
SEA 5000 Phase 1 materialising as the
Hunter-class frigate was previously the intended successor to ANZAC. However the program has
of affordability, complexity and timelines.
Hunter started out as an effort for a more capable multirole replacement for the ANZAC-class. As it turned out, the program now mostly serves as a template of all the mistakes to avoid in this regard.
As a result
Hunter together with the
Hobart-class AAW-destroyers has now “mutated” into the
“Tier 1”-segment of combatants for the future fleet mix. In line with this perception Canberra intends to cut
Hunter short at six instead of nine hulls. A “lower end”- or
“Tier 2”-design has emerged as new effort to come true on the requirement for an additional ANZAC-successor and growing the RAN surface fleet. The new
Tier 2-effort must therefore make concessions in capability and delivery timeframes to meet this aspiration. Yet here is where things are, again, getting complicated with decisions announced by government in February this year.
The four candidates as listed are:
- Meko A-200 (TKMS/Germany)
- Mogami 30FFM (MHI/Japan)
- Daegu FFX Batch II/III (HHI/Korea)
- ALFA3000 (Navantia/Spain)
