ABC – Three narco subs have been found near the Solomon Islands in the past 12 months. NSW Police say they are finding “enormous” quantities of illicit drugs in the community, despite border seizures up 44 per cent in the last financial year. Police also allege teenagers are being recruited online to carry out criminal tasks. 

Defense News – Australia has its work cut out keeping aging Collins-class diesel-electric submarines in service as it transitions to nuclear-powered submarines, firstly to second-hand Virginia-class boats from the United States, and then to SSN-AUKUS submarines designed and built in conjunction with the U.K.

Breaking Defense – Navy Secretary John Phelan said the ongoing review is designed to make the original deal “better,” to clear up some of the “ambiguity” and be a “win-win for everybody.”

The War Zone – An upgraded derivative of Japan’s Mogami class frigate has won a competition to become the Royal Australian Navy’s next major surface warship. Beyond being an important new addition to Australia’s combat fleet, this would be one of, if not the most significant foreign arms sale for Japan since the end of World War II.

Naval News – Australia will soon face a problem. It will have lots of naval helicopters, but not enough warships to embark them upon. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) currently has 23 Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters, but it has another 13 on the way. Simultaneously, Australia’s navy presently has ten surface combatants – seven Anzac-class frigates and three Hobart-class destroyers – a total that will reduce by one next year when the frigate HMAS Arunta retires.

Defense News –  Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft took center stage in Australia’s and New Zealand’s joint response during a surprise appearance last month of Chinese warships sailing around Australia, while the nations’ numbers of surface combatants have been dwindling, according to officials and analysts.

War on the Rocks – As the new American president shook allied capitals all over the world, a Virginia-class submarine — the USS Minnesota — arrived at a port in western Australia for the first of many routine Australian port visits slated for American submarines this year. It seemed like a positive signal for the U.S.-Australian alliance. And, despite uncertainty over America’s commitments, officials in the Trump administration have praised the AUKUS security compact. Still, these are the only sorts of Virginia-class submarines Australians should expect to arrive on their shores anytime soon: visiting American submarines crewed by Americans. Despite the promises of the first and core pillar of the AUKUS security compact, the United States simply won’t have enough Virginia-class submarines to spare. To make matters worse, the SSN AUKUS — meant to be Australia’s long-term solution — is likely to encounter significant delays and issues, similar to Britain’s past submarine programs, due to challenges in design maturity, production capacity, and technical complexities, making it an unreliable solution for Australia’s submarine needs. Faced with a stark reality, it is time for Australia to reconsider its options.

Defense News – Navies across the Asia-Pacific region are boosting amphibious capabilities in an effort to protect their complex coastlines, as China continues its flex its military muscle in the region.

PSNews – The Royal Australian Navy’s fleet of six Collins-class conventional submarines has been placed on the Federal Government’s Projects of Concern (POC) list over questions about the boats’ sustainment.

(Thanks to Alain)

The War Zone – Tomahawks will give Australia the ability to reach deep into China’s anti-access bubble, striking ships and land targets.

The War Zone – The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has experimented with a new, rapidly laid temporary airfield surface, which should make it easier to conduct expeditionary aircraft operations, something that is of increasing relevance across the Indo-Pacific region.

The Guardian – The admiral who runs America’s submarine building program has confirmed construction is behind schedule and nowhere near the rate required to supply Australia’s Aukus nuclear submarines on schedule.

Breaking Defense – Five of Australia’s six aging Collins-class submarines are undergoing repairs or are awaiting upgrades, according to a new report here, leaving only one fully operational boat to prowl the Pacific. It’s a development that could hobble Canberra’s ability to project power in the region and one that analysts said was “alarming” if not predictable.

The War Zone – We have now gotten our first look at the Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle (XL-AUV) operating submerged thanks to the Autonomous Warrior 2024 maritime autonomous capabilities demonstration in Australia. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the first known customer for the highly modular Ghost Shark, which manufacturer Anduril is now pitching elsewhere, including to the U.S. Navy.

Naval News – Australia will plunge billions of dollars into a revamped defence shipbuilding precinct in Western Australia. A government announcement on 16 October said the Henderson precinct would gain infrastructure suitable for building new landing craft and general-purpose frigates, as well as depot-level maintenance for nuclear-powered submarines.

MarineLink – A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine will undergo maintenance in Australia for the first time on Friday, a key step by AUKUS partners to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific, the defense ministers of Australia, Britain and the United States said.

(Thanks to Alain)

The War Zone – Anduril says it has received active interest in integrating more than a dozen new military and commercial payloads onto its Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle (XL-AUV). Payload testing and otherwise demonstrating the Ghost Shark’s highly modular design are core focuses of new work on the underwater drone that is now set to occur in the United States.

The War Zone – The Virginia class submarine USS Hawaii is in port in Australia for routine maintenance, with that country’s navy set to help out with that work in a first-of-its-kind team-up. This is a new and important step forward in plans to start rotational deployments of U.S. and British nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. 

Naval News – With its new nuclear-powered submarines years away from fructifying into any sort of capability, Australia is pouring money into extra-large autonomous underwater vehicles (XL-AUV) that will help take up the underwater slack.

USNI News – The Australian government signed a $2.2 billion four-year contract with national submarine builder ASC last week to keep Canberra’s existing Collins-class submarines in service through the 2030s.

Breaking Defense – The Royal Australian Navy admiral in charge of readying military facilities for a key port call by nuclear-powered submarines, including the future SSN AUKUS boat, warned this week that Australia’s generational effort to buy and deploy nuclear powered submarines is “at risk” if the government does not take quick, decisive action on infrastructure.

ABC – Half of Australia’s Collins Class submarine fleet will remain out of the water for the rest of the year with unprecedented corrosion problems discovered on two of the ageing boats.

(Thanks to Alain)

Breaking Defense – Australia is moving forward with its plan to conduct a $4 to $5 billion life extension on its Collins-class submarines, with HMAS Farncomb (SSG-74) first in line, but has scaled back previously planned upgrades, the government announced today.

Naval News – The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) two-star capability head has made a robust defence of the ‘shrink-wrapped’ procurement strategy being pursued for the accelerated acquisition of 11 new Tier 2 general purpose frigates.

The Australian – The Albanese government has been warned that the $5bn plan to extend the life of the navy’s ageing fleet of Collins-class submarines for another decade is a perilously high-risk endeavour that is not guaranteed to succeed.

(Thanks to Alain)