According to information published by the Guardian on October 15, 2021, the Royal Australian Navy could use its Collins-class submarines until 2050. Indeed, with the AUKUS pact, Australia will have to wait for the construction of nuclear-powered submarines when it would have received the first Attack class submarine from Naval Group in 2030.
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Australian PM Scott Morrison during the announcement of AUKUS pact with British PM Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden (Picture source: News-24)
The Collins-class is a series of six Australian-built diesel-electric powered submarines in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
The first Collins-class submarine was launched on 28 August 1993 and commissioned in Adelaide on 27 July 1996. The submarine has been developed from five generations of submarines designed and built by the Swedish Navy.
In September 2021, Australia scraped its French contract of Barracuda-class submarines to sign a new alliance with the United Kingdom and the United States called AUKUS, aiming to make the Royal Australian Navy's next submarine fleet nuclear-powered.
The agreement covers key areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber warfare, underwater capabilities, and long-range strike capabilities.
The Attack-class design was based on a conventional version of the Barracuda SSN (or Suffren-class), which is powered by a nuclear propulsion system using a new hybrid design that provides electric propulsion for economical cruise speeds and turbo-mechanical propulsion for higher speeds. The submarine can reach a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/f; 29 mph) with an unlimited range of 10 years. It has a crew of 60 people including 12 officers and 48 sailors.
