Australian "Delay" in Receiving the Future Subs

Note that the new submarines will only begin to be built in about 12 years time - for entry into service not in the late 2020s but the early 2030s. 

There is currently a political confrontation between former Prime Minister Abbott and current Prime Minister Turnbull over what Abbott perceives as a new submarine "delay". 

Only beginning the build in 2027 may cause much uncertainty for the winning contender. The delay may effect TKMS and DCNS less as there is a full export or foreign build order book for TKMS (for Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Singapore, Israel and South Korea) and almost full for DCNS (India and Brazil).

For Japan it is a long wait. The delay may benefit Australia with the opportunity for Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs), new diesels and the new snorkel system being operationally tested in Japanese Soryu Mark 2s and new, post Soryu class, over a longer period. If Japan is chosen see the Australian build details in red in the SORYU TABLE below. 

If TKMS or DCNS are chosen Australia may benefit from those companies spending a longer period developing and testing new air independent propulsion (AIP) technologies and also LIBs.

Without the CEP contender even being announced the "delay" controversy should serve as a warning to contenders about how political the new submarine issue is in Australia. Australian government decisions may continue to be surprising, personality and election driven. Different Prime Ministers and Coalition versus Labor governments may have conflicting ideas as to when and where the submarines should be assembled.

SORYU TABLE (with earlier Oyashios, as at March 22, 2016)

SS No.	Build No Name	Pennant No.	MoF approved amount ¥ Billions & FY	LABs, LIBs, AIP	Laid Down	Laun -ched	Commi-ssioned	Built By
5SS Oyashio	8105 Oyashio	SS-590/ TS3608	¥52.2B FY1993	LABs only	Jan 1994	Oct 1996	Mar 1998	KHI
6SS-15SS Oyashios 10 subs	8106 -8115 various	SS-591-600	¥52.2B per sub FY1994-FY2003	LABs only	Feb 1994		Mar 2008	MHI & KHI
16SS Soryu Mark 1	8116 Sōryū	SS-501	¥60B FY2004	LABs + AIP	Mar 2005	Dec 2007	Mar 2009	MHI
17SS	8117 Unryū	SS-502	¥58.7B FY2005	LABs + AIP	Mar 2006	Oct 2008	Mar 2010	KHI
18SS	8118 Hakuryū	SS-503	¥56.2 FY2006	LABs + AIP	Feb 2007	Oct 2009	Mar 2011	MHI
19SS	8119 Kenryū	SS-504	¥53B FY2007	LABs + AIP	Mar 2008	Nov 2010	Mar 2012	KHI
20SS	8120 Zuiryū	SS-505	¥51B FY2008	LABs + AIP	Mar 2009	Oct 2011	Mar 2013	MHI
No 21SS			No 21SS built
22SS	8121 Kokuryū	SS-506	¥52.8B FY2010	LABs + AIP	Jan 2011	Oct 2013	Mar 2015	KHI
23SS	8122 Jinryu	SS-507	¥54.6B FY2011	LABs + AIP	Feb 2012	Oct 2014	7 Mar 2016	MHI
24SS	8123 Sekiryū	SS-508	¥54.7B FY2012	LABs + AIP	Mar 2013	Nov 2015	Mar 2017	KHI
25SS	8124	SS-509	¥53.1B FY2013	LABs + AIP	Oct 2013	Nov 2016	Mar 2018	MHI
26SS	8125	SS-510	¥51.7B FY2014	LABs + AIP	?	?	Mar 2019	KHI
27SS Soryu Mark 2	8126	SS-511	¥64.3B FY2015	LIBs only	?	?	Mar 2020	MHI
28SS	8127	SS-512	¥63.6B FY2016	LIBs only	?	?	Mar 2021	KHI
29SS	?	?	1st of New Japanese  Class	LIBs only	?	?	2023?	MHI?
Aus1	?	?	1st of new Aus class (if Japan chosen)	LIBs only	2028?	2030?	2033?	in Aus or Jpn?
Aus2 to 12?	?	?	between 5 and 11 additional Aus subs	LIBs only	from 2029?	from 2031?	from 2034?	in Aus or Jpn?

Table courtesy of information provided to Submarine Matters. LABs = lead-acid batteries, 

AIP = air independent propulsion, LIBs = lithium-ion batteries.  

Pete