There’s an ongoing discussion (here and here) at Submarine Matters about what
forward bases, submarines numbers, sizes and support modes would best service Australia’s submarine needs.
At ASPI Strategist former submarine commander Denis Mole has written an excellent article
“The Royal Australian Navy needs a support ship, not a fixed base at Manus Island” of April 30, 2020 at https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-royal-australian-navy-needs-a-support-ship-not-a-fixed-base-at-manus-island/. (It was republished by the Australian Naval Institute on May 3, 2020). Parts of the article are:
Read Denis Mole's whole excellent essay HERE.
At ASPI Strategist former submarine commander Denis Mole has written an excellent article
“The Royal Australian Navy needs a support ship, not a fixed base at Manus Island” of April 30, 2020 at https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-royal-australian-navy-needs-a-support-ship-not-a-fixed-base-at-manus-island/. (It was republished by the Australian Naval Institute on May 3, 2020). Parts of the article are:
"...In 2018,
the US and Australian governments announced that that they would work with
Papua New Guinea to redevelop the naval base on Manus Island to support Royal Australian Navy, US Navy and PNG Defence Force
operations. However, little has emerged since then on what is being
contemplated.
Manus
Island has an excellent natural harbour and is strategically well located to
provide forward support for RAN ships operating in the western Pacific,
including the South China Sea. As a forward operating base, its weaknesses are
that fixed infrastructure on Manus would be more vulnerable than fixed
infrastructure at home bases and that access could be withheld if PNG assessed
it was in its national interest to avoid being drawn into a conflict.
Both these
weaknesses could be mitigated if all or most of the support the base provides
was aboard a ship and mobile, rather than on land and fixed. A purpose-designed
ship could provide fuel, storage and treatment for oily and brown-water
discharge, stores and provisions, munitions, workshops and medical facilities.
Ships and submarines would berth alongside such a vessel.
In the
event of a direct threat to Manus Island, the ship could be relocated to other
protected waters in PNG. If the PNG government no longer welcomed RAN ships,
the support ship could relocate to another Pacific nation or to north
Queensland, Broome or Darwin.
A large
fleet support ship wouldn’t necessarily be expensive to buy or to run. It could
be built to commercial standards and operated by a core civilian crew, similar
to current navy support ships Sycamore, Besant and Stoker.
RAN personnel and contractors could be embarked as ‘special personnel’, not
crew, on a fly-in, fly-out basis. As a government-owned commercial vessel, it
would fall outside the naval shipbuilding plan and could be built offshore like
the new Australian Antarctic supply and research vessel, RSV Nuyina,
which, despite being delayed, is nearing completion in
Romania.
While such
a ship could support destroyers, frigates and small vessels, it could be
designed primarily to support the Attack-class submarines.
A support
ship could enable these conventionally powered submarines to conduct
back-to-back patrols without returning to home bases. It would have specialised
berthing facilities, battery-charging capabilities, battery and mast workshops,
an air supply for submarine escape systems, and the ability to embark and
support Australia’s submarine rescue system.
....A
submarine support ship could be located in Sydney at least until the long-term
composition and disposition of the submarine force is clear. Once the future is
clearer, the support ship could be relocated elsewhere on the east coast or
deployed to Manus Island.
A
submarine support ship would perform its role in port or anchored in sheltered
waters, so performance at sea wouldn’t drive its design characteristics.
Because it would rarely be at sea, the ship would be less vulnerable to attack
than fixed infrastructure since it could be relocated from an emerging threat
location to a lower risk operating position.
Darwin isn’t suitable [as a forward base] because it is too far from deep water. Although large submarines
can operate in water as shallow as 40 metres, that’s only after they have
submerged and their trim has been balanced. When a submarine has refuelled, or
replenished its stores or weapons, a theoretical trim is calculated and applied
in port. For their initial dive after leaving port, large submarines require a
minimum depth of about 100 metres to allow for variation between estimated and
actual trim.
The
distance from Darwin to water 100 metres deep is approximately 250 nautical
miles. A submarine departing Darwin would need to transit on the surface for
more than 24 hours before diving, which would leave it vulnerable to attack by
mines, torpedoes, missiles or aircraft.
Darwin and
Broome are roughly equidistant from the South China Sea.
Broome [in northern Western Australia] might be suitable as a forward base as it’s about 84 nautical miles from water 100 metres deep, but the West Australian town has limited port facilities and, like Manus Island, would require a support ship."
AUTHOR
Broome [in northern Western Australia] might be suitable as a forward base as it’s about 84 nautical miles from water 100 metres deep, but the West Australian town has limited port facilities and, like Manus Island, would require a support ship."
AUTHOR
Denis Mole served in the Royal Australian
Navy for more than 35 years, commanding submarines and attaining the rank of
commodore. He has recently retired from the commercial marine and defence
support sector.
We can’t afford, to muck around for too much longer, If we don’t forge concrete actions there will be inroads made by China just next door. Start making infrastructure inroads ASAP. Start forging Asian acts of commitment.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest they need both. The problem of relying only on a single support ship is that even in peacetime, a ship cannot stay there forever, otherwise when you go to move it, it won’t be able to move. They need dry docking & repairs just like any other ship. Such a ship would also become a high value target in wartime meaning it will need a frigate to take it anywhere, otherwise 1 torpedo & you have just lost the equivalent of a naval base. Such a ship though would definitely have its uses & not just for submarines. The new OPV’s also come to mind. Such usage would be important, otherwise the location of the support ship would too readily indicate submarine operations.
ReplyDeleteManus is important to insure that no-one else ends up there. It was a major US base during the latter part of WW2 & was later an Australian base for quite some time. Almost as soon as Australia & PNG announced they would be revamping the now PNG naval base back into an enlarged & upgraded joint base, USA were putting their hand up to join in. The airport is also capable of handling 737 aircraft, which means P8 & Wedgetail should be able to operate from there (can’t do that from a ship). The island is big enough for a base but small enough & isolated enough to allow effective military & government control. There has been a naval base there for more than 75 years, so the locals are use to one always being there.
Hi Anonymous [at May 13, 2020 at 10:46 AM]
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for your expert comments.
Yes. Forward based submarine tenders are only viable in peacetime. At least 2 would be needed for Manus - to allow ongoing rotating overhaul/repairs/modernisation of one of the two.
Historically the most useful tenders for Australia's defence where US Navy tenders in WWII. These were in Fremantle and Brisbane - set far back from air and easy naval attack (eg. USS Griffin https://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/usn-submarines-based-brisbane-during-world-war-ii ) The Brisbane/Fremantle tenders were also defended by allied surface ships and aircraft.
In WWII Darwin was too far forward when the Japanese were in the southwest Pacific, New Guinea, Solomos and what is now Indonesia. Darwin is still too far forward.
Some US and and Aus (air and naval) basing in Manus helps guard against Chinese basing in Manus and other islands nearby. Our basing also provides "rental" income to PNG thereby reducing PNG vulnerability to Chinese "debt trapping"
Cheers
Pete