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127-598: The missile is capable of reaching a speed of Mach 3 (3,700 km/h; 2,300 mph) at high altitude and Mach 2.2 at low-altitude. This speed is 4.25 to 3 times more than speed of the subsonic American Harpoon . The Moskit was designed to be employed against smaller NATO naval groups in the Baltic Sea (Danish and German) and the Black Sea (Turkish) and non-NATO vessels in the Pacific (Japanese, South Korean, etc.), and to defend

254-513: A Tor missile system on board. Collins-class submarine The Collins -class submarines are Australian-built diesel-electric submarines operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The Collins class takes its name from Australian Vice Admiral John Augustine Collins ; each of the six submarines is named after significant RAN personnel who distinguished themselves in action during World War II . The six vessels were

381-462: A request for tender and approached seven of the world's nine diesel-electric submarine manufacturers for submissions. The submissions would be narrowed down to two based on the provided information, with these undergoing a funded study to determine the winning design. Tendering companies had to demonstrate how Australian industries would be incorporated into the project, and that they were willing to establish an Australia-based consortium to construct

508-624: A $ 3.1 billion deal. India will also receive Harpoon missiles under FMS in a $ 155 million deal. In late May 2022, Denmark sent Harpoon launchers and missiles to Ukraine to help their war effort , and shortly after, the Netherlands sent additional missiles. In mid-June 2022, the US announced that they would supply Ukraine with Harpoon launchers and missiles, and the UK Defence Secretary said that they also were looking into supplying Ukraine with

635-744: A European combat system linked to American weapons, and desires to increase the political and military ties between Australia and the United States resulted in the cancellation of the tender program in July 2001 and the decision to enter a joint development program with the United States, with a formal agreement signed on 10 September 2001 at the Pentagon. The replacement program received Australian government approval in September 2002. The second combat system development program proceeded with far fewer problems, and took

762-559: A common baseline, portraying the predicted Australian operating conditions, which generally saw Kockums' figures revised upwards, and those from IKL/HDW downwards. This resulted in growing support for the Type ;471 bid, and outcries from the IKL and HDW groups, which questioned the validity of the recalculations and if the Australian evaluators had the experience to do this correctly. Analysis of

889-597: A joint venture with the Australian branch of Chicago Bridge & Iron , Wormald International , and the Australian Industry Development Corporation to create the Australian Submarine Corporation . During the study, various accusations of foul play by or unsuitability of both submarine designers were made by Australian politicians and the media. These included claims that the centre-left Australian Labor Party (ALP) and

1016-443: A new lighter 300 lb (140 kg) warhead and a more fuel-efficient engine with electronic fuel controls. Boeing offered the missile as the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship frigate upgrade over-the-horizon anti-ship missile as a cost-effective missile upgrade option; complete Next Gen Harpoons would cost approximately as much as a Block II at $ 1.2 million each, with upgrades for an existing missile costing half that. The version

1143-545: A poor public perception of the Collins class. After 20 years of service issues, the boats have finally provided high availability to the RAN since 2016. The Collins class was expected to be retired about 2026, however, the 2016 Defence White Paper extended this into the 2030s. The Collins class life will now be extended and will receive an unplanned capability upgrade, including sonar and communications. The initial replacement for

1270-443: A variety of reasons. Most failures were attributed to the fifteen-tank diesel fuel system: the tanks were designed to fill with salt water as they were emptied to maintain neutral buoyancy , but water would regularly enter the engines due to a combination of poor design, gravity separation of the fuel and water being insufficient, and operator error resulting from poor training. Problems were also caused by bacterial contamination of

1397-483: A white board, the aerofoil issue with the Dorsal – Sail conning tower structure showing that the aspect ratio (span (height) to chord (width)) was too short and that severe turbulence / cavitation would be generated by such a design. This was demonstrated again on the white board using aircraft aerofoil wing shapes as a basis for the discussion. That the turbulence / cavitation generated would, by natural rearward flow, move down

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1524-735: Is also called the Harpoon Block II+ ER. Boeing claims the Block II+ ER is superior to the Naval Strike Missile through its improved turbojet giving it greater range and active radar-homing seeker for all-weather operation, as well as a lighter but "more lethal" warhead. Test shots in 2017 had been confirmed. In May 2017, Boeing revealed it was no longer offering the upgraded Harpoon for the frigate OTH missile requirement, but would continue development of it. In 1981 and 1982, there were two accidental launches of Harpoon missiles: one by

1651-452: Is looking at adding the capability of carrying a stand-off missile, probably Harpoon or AGM-65 Maverick, on its six P-3 Orion patrol planes once they have all been upgraded to P3K2 standard. The Republic of Singapore Air Force also operates five modified Fokker 50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) which are fitted with the sensors needed to fire the Harpoon missile. The Pakistani Navy carries

1778-539: Is not planned to be reintroduced until the Block IV Tomahawk is modified with a moving target maritime attack feature in 2021. During RIMPAC 2018 a UGM-84 Harpoon was fired by USS Olympia at the ex-USS Racine . The U.S. Navy plans to refurbish and recertify UGM-84 Harpoon missiles to reintroduce the capability to Los Angeles -class submarines . A $ 10 million contract was awarded to Boeing in January 2021 to deliver

1905-447: The "fast track" program , Dechaineux and Sheean were fitted with the old Rockwell combat system, which was enhanced by the addition of sub-systems developed during the early 1980s for the Oberon -class mid-life upgrade and commercial off-the-shelf components. Even with the enhanced system, it was believed that the capabilities of the fast track Collins boats was at best equivalent to

2032-537: The 1996 federal election , and Beazley became Leader of the Opposition . During the mid-1990s, it was recommended on several occasions that the submarine project be abandoned, and the completed submarines and incomplete hulls be broken up for scrap. Following the McIntosh-Prescott Report , which indicated the long-term faults with the class that still required solving, successful efforts were made to bring

2159-486: The 1998 federal election , John Moore decided that the only way to solve the various problems of the Collins class was for an independent report to be prepared on them. He appointed Malcolm McIntosh, chief executive of the CSIRO and an unofficial advisor to Moore, and John Prescott, a former BHP director, to investigate the project, uncover the problems with the submarines, and suggest ways of solving them. The Report to

2286-511: The Collins class was to be a conventionally-powered version of the Barracuda -class SSN proposed by Naval Group of France , dubbed the Attack class . On 15 September 2021, in the face of growing delays and cost increases, the Australian government announced the cancellation of the contract with Naval Group, and that the replacement will be a nuclear-powered submarine fleet made in partnership with

2413-527: The Collins combat system, to Boeing . Boeing attempted to produce a workable combat system, but believed that this could only be done if the changes in technology were accounted for in a contract alteration, which the RAN and the Australian Government initially refused to do. Boeing then requested assistance from Raytheon , and after further negotiations with the Government resulted in a reduction of

2540-443: The Collins -class project later claimed that large sections of the report could have been copied from reports previously submitted by the RAN or ASC. The report, along with the planned December 2000 decommissioning of the final Oberon -class submarine, Otama , prompted the establishment of an A$ 1 billion program to bring the fourth and fifth submarines ( Dechaineux and Sheean ) up to operational standards, then retrofit

2667-539: The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified U.S. Congress of a possible sale of 21 additional AGM-84L Harpoon Block II Missiles and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for a complete package worth approximately $ 200 million; the Indian government intends to use these missiles on its Indian Navy P-8I Neptune maritime patrol aircraft. The Indian Navy is also planning to upgrade

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2794-404: The Oberon class was machinery noise transmitted through the hull; this was successfully avoided during construction of the Collins class by mounting machinery on platforms isolated from the hull. Noise testing during 1996 and 1997 found that the hydrodynamic noise signature—the noise made by a submarine passing through the water—was excessive, particularly at high speed. The shape of the hull

2921-610: The Oberon s. Lockheed Martin , Thales , STN Atlas , and Raytheon were approached to provide tenders to design and assemble a new combat system for the submarines, with all four submitting proposals during early 2000. In May 2000, after the DSTO tested operational versions of the proposed combat software packages, the Lockheed and Thales tenders were eliminated, despite the Thales proposal being rated better than Raytheon's. After indepth testing of

3048-731: The P-3 Orion , the P-8 Poseidon , the AV-8B Harrier II , the F/A-18 Hornet and the U.S. Air Force B-52H bombers . The Harpoon was purchased by many nations, including India, Japan, Singapore , South Korea, Taiwan , the United Arab Emirates and most NATO countries. The Royal Australian Air Force can fire AGM-84-series missiles from its F/A-18F Super Hornets . AP-3C Orion , and P-8 Poseidon aircraft, and previously from

3175-564: The Republic of China Navy (Taiwan) decided to switch to the Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III . The Block 1 missiles were designated A/R/UGM-84A in US service and UGM-84B in the UK. Block 1B standard missiles were designated A/R/UGM-84C, Block 1C missiles were designated A/R/UGM-84D. Block 1 used a terminal attack mode that included a pop-up to approximately 5,900 feet (1,800 m) before diving on

3302-474: The Swedish Social Democratic Party , both in power at the time, would lead to a pro-Kockums bias, investigations into perceived coaching of IDL/HDW representatives in the questions to be asked at an ALP Caucus briefing session on the project, and public emphasis on security incidents in both Sweden and West Germany. These incidents either lacked supporting evidence or were proven false, and were

3429-404: The fin , and the rear of the submarine, focused the displaced water into two turbulent streams; when the seven propeller blades hit these streams, the propeller's vibration was increased, causing cavitation. These problems were fixed by modifying the casing of the submarine with fiberglass fairings. During trials of the first submarines, the propulsion system was found to be prone to failure for

3556-459: The A$ 1.17 billion allocated to the fast track program, only A$ 143 million was required to fix problems where the submarines did not correspond with the original contract: the rest was used to update components that were technologically obsolete and make changes to the submarines beyond the contract specifications. When the fast track program is factored in, the Collins class cost just under 20% more than

3683-570: The AGM-84K (2002 onwards). Block 1J was a proposal for a further upgrade, A/R/UGM-84J Harpoon (or Harpoon 2000), for use against both ship and land targets. In production at Boeing facilities in Saint Charles, Missouri , is the Harpoon Block II, intended to offer an expanded engagement envelope, enhanced resistance to electronic countermeasures and improved targeting. Specifically, the Harpoon

3810-537: The ASC facility in April 2001 for a year-long maintenance docking, multiple welding defects were found in the bow and escape tower sections of the submarine (the two sections constructed by Kockums), while almost no problems were found in the welding of the four Australian-built sections. Repairing these welds quadrupled the time Collins spent in dock. The noise made by the submarines, which compromised their ability to stay hidden,

3937-609: The Australian Cabinet approved the final design: Kockums' Type 471 submarine, fitted with the Rockwell combat system and Diesel-Electric propulsion units provided by the French engineering firm Jeumont-Schneider . The contract for construction of six submarines was signed on 3 June and valued at A$ 3.9 billion in 1986 prices, with allowances for inflation and the changing value of the Australian dollar. The submarine acquisition project

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4064-545: The Australian Government over the nature of problems, their causes, and who was responsible for solving them. Media reporting of the problems during the mid-1990s was often negative and exaggerated, creating poor public perception. This was aided by politicians, who used the shortcomings to politically attack the Labor Party and Kim Beazley, particularly after Labor was defeated by the Liberal-National Coalition in

4191-614: The Harpoon missile on its frigates and P-3C Orions. The Turkish Navy carries Harpoons on surface warships and Type 209 submarines . The Turkish Air Force will be armed with the SLAM-ER. Turkey is planning to replace the Harpoons with Turkish made Atmaca missiles. At least 339 Harpoon missiles were sold to the Republic of China Air Force (Taiwan) for its F-16 A/B Block 20 fleet and the Republic of China Navy , which operates four guided-missile destroyers and eight guided-missile frigates with

4318-559: The Minister for Defence on the Collins class submarine and related matters (commonly referred to as the McIntosh-Prescott Report ) was compiled in ten weeks, and released on 1 June 1999. This report concluded that the Collins class was incapable of performing at the required level for military operations. Although the report highlighted several elements of the submarine design that performed to or beyond expectations, and acknowledged that many of

4445-560: The RAN wanted full penetration welding, but had not made this clear; delays in delivering the steel plates to Kockums resulted in rushed work and a resulting drop in quality. Kockums engineers proposed that the section be kept in Sweden for repairs, but to minimise delays it was accepted as-is, with repairs attempted at ASC during full assembly of the first boat. Kockums sent welders and inspection technicians to ASC in order to assist in undertaking these repairs. However, when Collins returned to

4572-530: The RAN: in service with another navy, well tested, and with all the problems solved before they entered Australian hands. The RAN began to realise that as the parent navy for the class, they had a greater responsibility than normal in ensuring that the boats were at an operational standard. During assembly of Collins ' bow and escape tower sections in Sweden, multiple defects in the hull welding were discovered. Different reasons were given by different parties for

4699-570: The Russian mainland against NATO amphibious assault. The missile can perform intensive anti-defense maneuvers with overloads in excess of 10 g , which completed for 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) before the target. Variants of the missile have been designated 3M80M, 3M82 (Moskit M). The P-270 designation is believed to be the initial product codename for the class of missile, with the Russian Ministry of Defense GRAU indices (starting with 3M) designating

4826-595: The SLAM Expanded Response (SLAM-ER), an upgrade to the SLAM. The US Navy awarded a $ 120 million contract to Boeing in July 2011 for the production of about 60 Block II Harpoon missiles, including missiles for 6 foreign militaries. India acquired 24 Harpoon Block II missiles to arm its maritime strike Jaguar fighters in a deal worth $ 170 million through the Foreign Military Sales system. In December 2010,

4953-475: The SLAM a re-attack capability, as well as an image comparison capability similar to the Tomahawk cruise missile ; that is, the weapon can compare the target scene in front of it with an image stored in its onboard computer during terminal phase target acquisition and lock on (this is known as DSMAC ). Block 1G missiles A/R/UGM-84G; the original SLAM-ER missiles were designated AGM-84H (2000-2002) and later ones

5080-466: The Swedish company was dissatisfied with the Australian actions; the dispatch of the propellers was one of the points of contention in the company's legal action in the mid-2000s against the Australian government over ownership of the intellectual property rights to the submarine's design. Other propulsion problems included excessive motor vibrations at certain speeds which damaged various components (which

5207-546: The U.S. State Department approved the sale of Harpoon Block II to the Mexican Navy for use on their future Sigma-class design frigates, the first of which is being built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding . On 18 November 2015, the U.S. Navy tested the AGM-84N Harpoon Block II+ missile against a moving ship target. The Block II+ incorporates an improved GPS guidance kit and a net-enabled data-link that allows

P-270 Moskit - Misplaced Pages Continue

5334-526: The United Kingdom and the United States . The proposal for a new type of submarine to replace the Oberon class of diesel-electric submarines began in July 1978, when the RAN director of submarine policy prepared a paper detailing the need to start considering a replacement for the ageing Oberon s. The paper also raised the suggestion that the majority of the submarines be constructed in Australia and that

5461-564: The United States Navy which caused no damage and the other by the Danish Navy , which destroyed and damaged buildings in the recreational housing area Lumsås . The Danish missile was later known as the hovsa-missile ( hovsa being the Danish term for oops ). In November 1980, during Operation Morvarid , Iranian missile boats attacked and sank two Iraqi Osa-class missile boats ; one of

5588-541: The United States, Plessey of the United Kingdom, Signaal of the Netherlands, Sintra Alcatel of France, and a collaboration between the German Krupp Atlas Elektronik and the British Ferranti . Each tender was required to offer a system with a distributed architecture , despite the absence of an accepted definition for ' distributed computing ' at that time, and had to show the cost of programming

5715-562: The accusations. Robert Hewson, editor of Jane's Air Launched Weapons , pointed out that the Harpoon is not suitable for the land-attack role due to deficiency in range. He also stated that Pakistan was already armed with more sophisticated missiles of Pakistani or Chinese design and, therefore, "beyond the need to reverse-engineer old US kit." Hewson offered that the missile tested by Pakistan was part of an undertaking to develop conventionally armed missiles, capable of being air- or surface-launched, to counter its rival India's missile arsenal. It

5842-634: The additional cost would require the diversion of funding from the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force , resulting in an imbalance in the capabilities of the Australian Defence Force. The option was cancelled outright by late 2001. The first submarine, HMAS  Collins , was laid down in February 1990. Collins ' launch was originally planned for 1994, but was later set for 28 August 1993. Although launched on schedule, she

5969-402: The autopilot (which aboard Collins was nicknamed 'Sven') was found to be better at maintaining depth during snorting than most helmsmen. However, problems with the combat system, excessive noise, and engine breakdowns were recurring and appeared across the entire class. These and other shortcomings were often made harder to solve by disagreements between Kockums, ASC, Rockwell, the RAN, and

6096-487: The battery compartment exhaust fans were noise-creating factors found and eliminated during studies by the DSTO. In March 2010, the Department of Defence revealed that the generators in five of the submarines were flawed and had to be replaced. The three generators aboard each of the five submarines are to be replaced in the submarines as they come in for their next maintenance docking . The periscopes had two problems,

6223-557: The capability of carrying the Harpoon, including the eight former U.S. Navy Knox -class frigates and the four former USN Kidd -class destroyers which have been sold to Taiwan. The two Zwaardvis / Hai Lung submarines and 12 P-3C Orion aircraft can also use the missile. The eight Cheng Kung -class frigates , despite being based on the US Oliver Hazard Perry class , have Harpoon capabilities deleted from their combat systems, and funding to restore it has so far been denied,

6350-433: The combat data system software. Collins was not approved for operational deployments until 2000. The other five submarines were scheduled for completion at 12-month intervals. However, the series of defects and problems encountered during sea trials of the submarines (particularly Collins ) resulted in the repeated diversion of resources from those still under construction, adding to delays. Consequently, delivery of

6477-510: The combat data system tenders had been narrowed down by unjustified development risk in the Plessey and Krupp/Ferranti proposals, and the dual problems in the Sintra Alcatel tender of excessive power usage and incompatibility with the proposed American weapons system. On 9 May, the Australian cabinet approved the selections for the funded studies and decided that six submarines would be built, with

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6604-433: The combat system, although this meant that Singer Librascope, which had prior experience in creating submarine combat systems, was reduced to a minor role in the project. Other major problems with the system, to which most of the later difficulties were attributed, were that the original concept was beyond the technology of the day, and that the system architecture required by the RAN was both overly ambitious and flawed. This

6731-408: The complete system had been delivered. Sea trials of Collins were unable to commence until Release 1.5 of the combat system software was delivered; because of ongoing delays in the provision of the software, the early phases of the trials were completed using stand-alone equipment By March 1994, the combat system had become the major area of concern for the submarine project: assembly of the system

6858-432: The contract cost. As of the launch of the first submarine, the project cost had increased from A$ 3.892 billion in 1986 dollars to A$ 4.989 billion in 1993 dollars, which corresponded to the rate of inflation during that period. By 2006, A$ 5.071 billion had been spent to build the submarines (excluding the fast track program); after taking inflation into account, the project had run less than A$ 40 million over contract. Of

6985-408: The danger, but Jagvivek left port before receiving the communication and subsequently strayed into the test range area, and the Harpoon missile, loaded just with an inert dummy warhead, locked onto it instead of its intended target. The UGM-84A undersea-launched Harpoon version was retired from U.S. Navy service in 1997, leaving the U.S. submarine force without an anti-ship missile, a capability that

7112-477: The design selection, improper handling of design changes during construction, major capability deficiencies in the first submarines, and ongoing technical problems throughout the early life of the class. These problems have been compounded by the inability of the RAN to retain sufficient personnel to operate the submarines—by 2008, only three could be manned, and between 2009 and 2012, on average two or fewer were fully operational. The resulting negative press has led to

7239-415: The desired RAN specifications, and the two proposals selected would have to be redesigned during the funded study. The combat data system was procured separately to the submarine design; 14 companies were identified as capable of providing what the RAN wanted, from which eight were approached in January 1983 with a separate request for tender. Five responded: a consortium led by Rockwell International of

7366-537: The development phase of the project was given in the 1981–82 federal budget. The RAN had four main requirements: that the submarines were tailored to operating conditions in the Australasian region, that they be equipped with a combat system advanced enough to promote a long service life, that appropriate and sustainable infrastructure be established in Australia to construct the boats, then provide maintenance and technical support for their operational lifespan, and that

7493-469: The diesel fuel, which, along with the salt water, would cause the fuel pumps to rust and other components to seize. The fuel-related issues were solved by installing coalescers , improving training and operational procedures, and adding biocides to the fuel. Propeller shaft seals were a significant problem on Collins and Farncomb . Although designed to allow for a leak of 10 litres (2.2 imp gal; 2.6 US gal) per hour, during trials it

7620-402: The dorsal fin and create a more streamlined integration of the dorsal to flat upper Hull deck section. and 2) To 'fill in' the hollow section of hull aft of the bow curvature. Both these could be achieved with Carbon Fibre or Fibreglass covers as no load bearing strength would be required. Subsequent studies by the DSTO showed that the submarine's hull shape, particularly the redesigned sonar dome,

7747-493: The end of 1990, Chicago Bridge & Iron and Wormald International had both sold their shares in ASC. The shares were bought up by Kockums and the Australian Industry Development Corporation, with some of Kockums' shares then sold to James Hardie Industries to maintain an Australian majority ownership of the company. On 5 April 2000, the shares in ASC held by Kockums were bought out and the company

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7874-429: The evaluators concluded from the information provided that doing so would require the deactivation of all non-essential and some essential systems. Conversely, Kockums' proposal conceded that they did not meet the requirements, although evaluators found that the figures failed by only narrow margins, and believed that these were conservative. The evaluation team recalculated the capability statistics for both submarines to

8001-460: The exact variant of the missile. The 3M80 was its original model. The 3M80M model (also termed 3M80E for export) was a 1984 longer range version of the missile, with the latest version with the longest range being the 3M82 Moskit M. The ASM-MSS / Kh-41 variant is the 1993 air-launched version of the missile. The 3M80MVE variant has an optional longer 240 kilometres (150 mi) range through a second, high-altitude flight profile setting, however using

8128-402: The first of which was shared with the other masts. They were not streamlined; raising a periscope while moving would create enough drag and turbulence to shake the entire submarine. As with many elements of the submarine, there were disagreements as to who was responsible for the problem. It was solved by modifying the masts to redirect the water flow around them (for example, a spiral wrap

8255-569: The first submarine to be constructed overseas, the Cabinet decided as part of the project's approval that all six submarines would be built in Australia; the increases in construction time and cost from not building the lead ship in the winning designer's home shipyard was considered to be offset by the additional experience provided to Australian industries. Even so, two sections of the first submarine were constructed by Kockums' shipyard in Malmo, Sweden . By

8382-424: The first submarines built in Australia, prompting widespread improvements in Australian industry and delivering a sovereign (Australian controlled) sustainment/maintenance capability. Planning for a new design to replace the RAN's Oberon -class submarines began in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Proposals were received from seven companies; two were selected for a funded study to determine the winning design, which

8509-422: The first two submarines in late 1996, before completely re-designed seals were fitted to the boats in late 1997, solving the problem. The propellers themselves were also found to be poorly manufactured, having been shaped by hand, with at least one cast at the wrong pitch . This was rectified by using a five-axis milling machine for future shaping work and replacing the miscast propeller. The material used for

8636-578: The fleet of four submarines – Shishumar class – with tube-launched Harpoon missiles. Defense Security Cooperation Agency in April 2020 approved the sale of 10 AGM-84L Harpoon missiles along with containers, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment for the P-8I fleet to the Indian Navy at a value of $ 93 million. The sale of Mark 54 lightweight torpedo was approved simultaneously. Harpoon Block II missiles are designated A/R/UGM-84L. In early 2018,

8763-421: The following five boats were replicated by an Australian-owned partner or subsidiary. The project prompted major increases in quality control standards across Australian industries: in 1980, only 35 Australian companies possessed the appropriate quality control certifications for Defence projects, but by 1998 this had increased to over 1,500. Although the acquisition project organisers originally planned for

8890-403: The funded study, when Singer Librascope and Thomson CSF , who were partnering with Rockwell to develop the combat system, refused to release their intellectual property or their software code for Rockwell to sell. It was proposed that Computer Sciences of Australia, a division of Computer Sciences Corporation and a minor partner in the consortium, take over the role of writing the software for

9017-419: The head as on other submarines, requiring the optical path to be routed around these components. The periscopes were gradually improved, and were no longer a problem by the time the fast track submarines entered service. Despite the public focus on the various physical issues with the boats, the major problem with the submarines was the development of the Rockwell combat system. The problems had started during

9144-514: The higher altitude profile would make the missile detectable at much greater distances. Boeing AGM-84 Harpoon The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon , anti-ship missile manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security ). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Missile – Expanded Response) are cruise missile variants. The regular Harpoon uses active radar homing and flies just above

9271-473: The main criteria of the project was that Australian industries contribute to at least 60% of the work; by the conclusion of the project 70% of the construction and 45% of the software preparation had been completed by Australian-owned companies. Work was sub-contracted out to 426 companies across twelve countries, plus numerous sub-sub-contractors. In many cases, components for the first submarine were constructed by companies outside Australia, while those for

9398-636: The missile to receive in-flight targeting updates. Introduction of the Block II+ was achieved in 2017 on the F/A-18E/F followed by the P-8A in 2019. Harpoon Block III was intended to be an upgrade package to the existing USN Block 1C missiles and Command Launch Systems (CLS) for guided missile cruisers, guided missile destroyers , and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter aircraft. After experiencing an increase in

9525-576: The missiles by the end of the year. In June 2009, it was reported by an American newspaper, citing unnamed officials from the Obama administration and the U.S. Congress , that the American government had accused Pakistan of illegally modifying some older Harpoon missiles to strike land targets. Pakistani officials denied this and they claimed that the US was referring to a new Pakistani-designed missile. Some international experts were also reported to be skeptical of

9652-466: The missiles. On 17 June, Ukraine claimed to have sunk the tugboat Spasatel Vasily Bekh with two Harpoon missiles. In a tweet they said "Spasatel Vasily Bekh, a tug of the Russian Black Sea Fleet , successfully demilitarized by the @UA_NAVY. The ship was transporting personnel, weapons and ammunition to the occupied Snake Island." Ukraine's Naval Command also claimed the Russian tugboat had

9779-494: The modifications to the other boats. Referred to as the "fast track" or "get well" program, the program also included solving the problems preventing various parties from cooperating fully, and improving the negative media coverage and public perception of the class by responding to criticism and providing more information to reporters. The Collins -class submarines experienced a wide range of problems during their construction and early service life. Many of these were attributed to

9906-465: The necessary industrial base, New South Wales could not decide on the location of the construction facility, Victoria's proposed site was poorly sited, and building in Liberal -led Queensland would have been politically unwise for the project when Labor was in power both federally and in all other states. Each submarine was constructed in six sections, each consisting of several sub-sections. One of

10033-402: The new Mk48 Mod 7 torpedo but was hampered by changes to the maintenance cycle. The system can receive new software releases and hardware can be upgraded with new versions of the system regularly released with the version operated by a boat dependent on its full cycle docking schedule. Several newspaper articles and commentators have incorrectly claimed that the project ran significantly over

10160-672: The now retired F-111C/Gs and F/A-18A/B Hornets . The Royal Australian Navy deploys the Harpoon on major surface combatants and in the Collins -class submarines . The Spanish Air Force and the Chilean Navy are also AGM-84D customers, and they deploy the missiles on surface ships, and F/A-18s, F-16 Falcons , and P-3 Orion aircraft . The British Royal Navy formerly deployed the Harpoon on several types of surface ships. The Royal Canadian Navy carries Harpoon Block II missiles on its Halifax -class frigates . The Royal New Zealand Air Force

10287-403: The number of submarines be increased beyond the six Oberon s. Building the submarines in Australia was initially met with reactions predicting an impossible task because of the poor state of the Australian shipbuilding industry, and Australian industry in general, although campaigning by several figures in Australian industry who thought it could be done came to the attention of those spearheading

10414-581: The option for two more, all in Australia. The companies were granted funding for project definition studies, from which the final selections would be made. Liaison teams were sent to each of the four companies to observe the development of the concepts presented in the initial proposals. As part of this process, the two submarine designers were required to establish a consortium with at least 50% Australian ownership: IKL/HDW joined with Eglo Engineering to form Australian Marine Systems , while Kockums (which had originally planned to work with Eglo) became part of

10541-487: The problems: To speed production, Kockums employed welders who were not qualified to work on high strength steels; the Qualified Welding Procedures developed by Kockums for these steels were not followed in production; the steel alloy used for the hull required different welding techniques to those normally used by Kockums; the Swedish navy always requested partial penetration welds for their submarines, while

10668-535: The project to design the Oberon -class replacement, and led to the view that it was both possible and feasible. The campaign to build submarines in Australia was also met with support from the Australian Labor Party and several trade unions. The proposal was accepted by the defence operational requirements committee in August 1978, and the project was given the procurement designation of SEA 1114. Approval for

10795-470: The propeller at certain speeds, was the other main noisemaker. Cavitation had not been a problem with earlier Swedish submarine designs or during early testing of the Type 471 design, but the propeller had to be redesigned late in the process to provide more power, and like the redesigned hull, was not retested. During the year 2000, an unusual meeting took place with a next door neighbor (Francis 'Frank' Smith) of

10922-591: The propellers was also found to be weaker than expected, developing fatigue cracks after only a few years of use. Instead of going to Kockums, which had started to go into decline after the end of the Cold War, the submarine project office sent the propeller to the United States Navy for redesigning. Despite the Americans fixing the problems with the propeller design, resulting in significant performance improvements,

11049-521: The publicised problems had been or were in the process of being fixed, it presented the propulsion system, combat system, and excessive noise as ongoing problems across the class. After identifying the combat system as the central problem, McIntosh and Prescott recommended that it be scrapped entirely and replaced with a system based on commercially available equipment and software. They also claimed that these problems were caused by poor design and manufacture; inappropriate design requirements; deficiencies in

11176-410: The rear upper surface deck of the hull and be drawn into the propeller. He was also able to demonstrate that the design of the bow section would not pass a flow test for generated turbulence / cavitation, with the change in shape from circular bow section to long hull, being ill-conceived. He made several recommendations during the lecture that would be cost-effective and possible. 1) To lengthen and taper

11303-618: The remaining systems and observations of the systems in action, the German STN Atlas ISUS 90-55 aboard an Israeli Dolphin -class submarine and the American Raytheon CCS Mk2 aboard a USN Los Angeles -class submarine , it was decided that the STN Atlas system was the best for the class. However, political pressure from both the United States and Australia, questions about the security problems and possible leaks involved with

11430-430: The required number of personnel. It was found that the problem could be temporarily alleviated by running the propeller in reverse for 100 revolutions, pulling the seal back into alignment, although a permanent solution could initially not be found, as ASC refused to accept responsibility for the problem, and the original manufacturer of the seals had closed down. New suppliers were found, with modified seals fitted to

11557-650: The result of the Liberal Party attempting to discredit the Labor government, or pro-British politicians and organisations who believed both submarines were inferior to the Vickers Type 2400 offering. The Dibb Report on the state of the Australian Defence Force was released in March 1986; it included advice that if the submarine project cost increased too much, the boats' capabilities should be scaled back to save money. Around

11684-412: The same time, Federal Treasurer Paul Keating began efforts to tighten fiscal policy and cut government spending across all portfolios. Consequently, despite his enthusiastic support for the project as a means to improve Australia's defence and industrial capabilities, Minister for Defence Kim Beazley advised the project heads that he would not be able to secure Cabinet approval for construction of

11811-695: The scope of required government ship integration, test and evaluation, and a delay in development of a data-link, the Harpoon Block III program was canceled by the U.S. Navy in April 2009. In April 2015, Boeing unveiled a modified version of the RGM-84 it called the Harpoon Next Generation. It increases the ship-launched Harpoon missile's range from the Block II's 70 nmi (81 mi; 130 km) to 167.5 nmi (192.8 mi; 310.2 km), along with

11938-509: The software in Ada , although they could offer additional cost breakdowns for other programming languages. By May 1985, three months behind schedule, the review board narrowed the tenders down to two contenders in each group: IKL/HDW and Kockums for the submarine, Rockwell and Signaal for the combat system. The Walrus and Type 2400 submarine designs were considered to be too expensive to manufacture because of inefficient building practices, while

12065-413: The structure of the contract, particularly with regards to modifying the contract to meet changing requirements; and problems between the various parties involved in the construction of the submarines, with a lack of overall direction and conflicts of interest causing avoidable hostility and uncooperativeness. Despite the report being promoted by the government as 'ground-breaking', many people involved with

12192-430: The submarines being a new, untested design, and were successfully addressed as they were discovered. Most systems and features worked with few or no problems, while the boats' maximum speed, manoeuvrability, and low-speed submerged endurance were found to exceed specifications. The ship control system, which during development had been marked as a major potential problem, functioned beyond positive expectation: for example,

12319-527: The submarines if the predicted cost "started with a 4 [A$ 4 billion]". The four tenders resulting from the study were submitted during October and November 1986. Although the IKL/HDW design was rated highest during the initial inspection, the evaluation team found that the German proposal was less attractive than previously thought. Although IKL/HDW claimed that their boat could meet the RAN's performance requirements,

12446-489: The submarines ran significantly behind schedule; submarines were presented to the RAN between 21 and 41 months late, and the entire class was not cleared for full operational service until March 2004, a year after the last boat was commissioned. These delays forced the RAN to keep several Oberon -class submarines and the submarine base HMAS Platypus in service beyond their planned decommissioning dates. Following his appointment as Minister for Defence following

12573-474: The submarines to operational standard. As part of this, a public relations plan was implemented to provide up-to-date information on the submarines to the media, to improve the public perception of the class by providing factual information on the status of the project and responding to queries and incidents. This same period saw the dispelling of the idea, widely held within the RAN, that the Collins -class boats would be like any other vessel previously ordered by

12700-446: The submarines were capable of peacetime and emergency operations in addition to their hunter-killer role. Ten submarines were envisioned, a number which was revised to between four and eight boats by the start of 1983, and later settled on the acquisition of six submarines, with the option to order two more. The development of the submarine commenced in May 1983, when the government released

12827-509: The submarines. All seven companies responded by the end of the year: the combined submissions totalling four tonnes (9,000 lb) of paper. The review board concluded that the IKL/HDW Type ;2000 was the best design offered, the Walrus class was rated as 'fair', while Kockums' and Vickers' proposals were considered 'marginal' contenders. However, none of the tenders completely matched

12954-436: The system capabilities, the companies were able to stabilise the system and deliver Release 2.0 at the end of 1999. Boeing sold its naval systems division to Raytheon in May 2000, making the latter company solely responsible for completion of the combat system. After this, the submarine project began investigating ideas for a new combat system. Because there was not enough time to evaluate the replacement system to include it in

13081-558: The tactical and fire control components from the CCS Mk2 system, and the sonar interface component from the fast track program. The system is the AN/BYG-1 that was developed for the new USN Virginia -class submarine and has since be retrofitted to the whole USN fleet. The first of class installation was Waller in 2008 and the final installation was Collins in 2018. The program was to be completed by 2010 in conjunction with modifications for

13208-531: The target may have been a false one and that no ships were hit by those missiles. In 1988, Harpoon missiles were used by the U.S. to sink the Iranian frigate Sahand during Operation Praying Mantis . Another was fired at the Iranian Kaman -class missile boat Joshan , but failed to strike because the fast attack craft had already been mostly sunk by RIM-66 Standard missiles. An Iranian-owned Harpoon missile

13335-674: The target; Block 1B omitted the terminal pop-up; and Block 1C provided a selectable terminal attack mode. This version featured a larger fuel tank and re-attack capability, but was not produced in large numbers because its intended mission (warfare with the Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe) was considered to be unlikely following the Dissolution of the Soviet Union . The range is 173 miles (278 km) . Block 1D missiles were designated A/RGM-84F. This version, under development , gives

13462-633: The then HMAS Stirling Naval Base commander. He was an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (originally trained at Government Aircraft Factories Fisherman's bend) who had been aware of the fluid dynamics issues of the Collins class for some time, purely by interest and observation on television. After a lengthy discussion, he was invited to discuss and demonstrate where possible, his observations at the Stirling Naval Base with Navy and Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) staff who were there at that time as part of an investigative group. He showed on

13589-506: The threat posed by anti-ship missiles. In 1970 Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo Zumwalt accelerated the development of Harpoon as part of his "Project Sixty" initiative, hoping to add much-needed striking power to U.S. surface warships such as the Ticonderoga -class cruiser . The first Harpoon was delivered in 1977; in 2004, Boeing delivered the 7,000th. The Harpoon has also been adapted for carriage on several aircraft, including

13716-530: The two combat system proposals saw Signaal fall out of favour with the tender reviewers. This was primarily attributed to a cost-reducing re-design late in the process: the changes were not fully documented because of time constraints. Supporting documentation was further criticised by the reviewers for being vaguely worded and not using milspec terminology and standards. In addition, the system proposed by Rockwell appeared to have greater performance capabilities, and would be cheaper to implement. On 18 May 1987,

13843-489: The water to evade defenses. The missile can be launched from: In 1965, the United States Navy began studies for a missile in the 24-nautical-mile (45 km) range class for use against surfaced submarines . The name Harpoon was assigned to the project. The sinking of the Israeli destroyer Eilat in 1967 by a Soviet-built Styx anti-ship missile shocked senior United States Navy officers, who until then had not appreciated

13970-489: The weapons used was the Harpoon missile. In 1986, the United States Navy sank at least two Libyan patrol boats in the Gulf of Sidra . Two Harpoon missiles were launched from the cruiser USS  Yorktown with no confirmed results and several others from A-6 Intruder aircraft that were said to have hit their targets. Initial reports claimed that USS Yorktown scored hits on a patrol boat, but action reports indicated that

14097-399: Was nationalised , despite a trend at the time to privatise government-owned companies. At the end of 2003, a contract to maintain the Collins class worth $ 3.5 billion over 25 years was awarded to ASC. As of April 1996, the option to order the seventh and eighth submarines was still under consideration, but was looked on unfavourably by the Department of Defence at the time, as

14224-501: Was almost nine months behind schedule, and at least 20% of the software had not been compiled. The combat system continued to be a problem during the next few years, with progressive drops offering little improvements in performance over the previous version, and the completion date of Release 2—the designation for the full contractual realisation of the combat system software—was continually postponed. In 1996, Rockwell sold its military and aerospace division, including responsibility for

14351-549: Was also fired at the guided missile cruiser USS  Wainwright . The missile was successfully lured away by chaff . In December 1988, a Harpoon launched by an F/A-18 Hornet fighter from the aircraft carrier USS  Constellation killed one sailor when it struck the merchant ship Jagvivek , a 250 ft (76 m) long Indian-owned ship, during an exercise at the Pacific Missile Range near Kauai , Hawaii . A Notice to Mariners had been issued warning of

14478-482: Was announced in mid-1987. The submarines, enlarged versions of Swedish shipbuilder Kockums ' Västergötland class and originally referred to as the Type 471, were constructed between 1990 and 2003 in South Australia by the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC). The submarines have been the subject of many incidents and technical problems since the design phase, including accusations of foul play and bias during

14605-412: Was another major problem with the design. In the original requisition, the RAN guidelines for the noise signature of the new submarines were vague; for example, asking that they be "twice as quiet" as the Oberon s. Expectations and operational requirements also changed between the 1987 contract signing and when the submarines began operating in the late 1990s. The major element of the noise signature for

14732-569: Was at the time the most expensive project ever undertaken by the Australian Defence Force , but was unseated from this title by the Anzac -class frigate project a few years later. The Australian Submarine Corporation construction facility was established on previously undeveloped land on the bank of the Port River , at Osborne, South Australia . Work on the site began on 29 June 1987, and it

14859-432: Was attributed to the removal of a flywheel and to corrosion caused by the fuel problems), and excessive fuel consumption in Collins at high speed (found to be caused by manufacturing problems with the turbines and turbochargers). The propulsion system was also found to be a secondary source of noise: poor design of the exhaust mufflers , weight-saving measures in the generator mountings, and an incorrect voltage supply to

14986-430: Was compounded by the rate of advancement in computer technology: equipment had to be designed from scratch and custom manufactured at the start of the project, but by the time these were installed, they were obsolete compared to commercially available hardware and software. Australian Submarine Corporation was made responsible for the delivery of the Rockwell combat system, but had little ability to enforce this. Rockwell

15113-414: Was contracted to deliver the combat system by 9 September 1993, but was unlikely to do so. ASC's management board voted to issue a default notice to Rockwell as the American company had defaulted on the contract, but was ordered by the Department of Defence to retract the default notice and accept gradual delivery of partially completed versions of the combat system—referred to as 'releases' and 'drops'—until

15240-441: Was fixed around the head of each periscope). The periscopes also had problems with their optics: periscope users reported difficulty in refocusing after changing magnification, duplication of images, and bands across the field of vision. These problems were attributed to RAN demands that the optical view be the first exposed when a periscope was raised above the water, instead of placing the infrared sensor and single-pulse radar at

15367-461: Was found that the seals would regularly misalign and allow hundreds of litres per hour into the boat—during one deep diving test the flow rate was measured at approximately 1,000 litres (220 imp gal; 260 US gal) a minute. ASC claimed that solving these problems could be done by manually adjusting the seals as the submarine dived and rose, but this would have required a sailor dedicated solely to that task, affecting efforts to minimise

15494-548: Was initially designed as an open-ocean weapon. The Block II missiles continue progress begun with Block IE, and the Block II missile provides the Harpoon with a littoral -water anti-ship capability. The key improvements of the Harpoon Block II are obtained by incorporating the inertial measurement unit from the Joint Direct Attack Munition program, and the software, computer, Global Positioning System (GPS)/inertial navigation system and GPS antenna/receiver from

15621-545: Was later stated that Pakistan and the US administration had reached some sort of agreement allowing US officials to inspect Pakistan's inventory of Harpoon missiles, and the issue had been resolved. The Harpoon missile has also emerged as a preferred choice for several foreign countries under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route. In 2020 its manufacturer Boeing won two major contracts for supplying Harpoon missiles to Saudi Arabia and six other partner nations under

15748-411: Was not complete: the design of the submarine had not been finalised, important internal pipes and fittings were not installed, the components of the combat system had yet to be delivered, and some hull sections were actually sheets of timber painted black so the submarine would appear complete in photographs of the launching ceremony. Within weeks of the launch, Collins was removed from the water, and it

15875-407: Was not until June 1994 that the submarine was completed. Progress on the other five submarines was delayed by the extra effort required to meet Collins ' launching date and the subsequent work to complete her. Collins was not commissioned into the RAN until 27 July 1996; eighteen months behind schedule, because of several delays and problems, most relating to the provision and installation of

16002-545: Was opened in November 1989. South Australia was selected as the site of the construction facility based on the proposed location of the facility and promises by the State Government to help minimise any problems caused by workers' unions. The state's bid was aided by careful promotion to both Kockums and IKL/HDW during early in the project, and problems with the other states' proposals: Tasmania and Western Australia lacked

16129-548: Was the main cause: although a scale model of the design had been tested during the funded study and was found to have a minimal signature, the hull shape was changed after the contract was signed, primarily by a 2-metre (6.6 ft) lengthening of the submarine and a redesign of the bow dome to accommodate the larger-than-expected main sonar and reduce its blind spot (the baffles ). The design had not been retested, as who would pay for this could not be agreed on. Propeller cavitation , caused by water flow over control surfaces onto

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