So INS Arighaat/Arighat [1] commissioned on August 29, 2024, is India’s second Arihant-class [2] small SSBN - known in the trade as a “Baby Boomer”.
The US’s first SSBNs were also Baby Boomers, called the George Washington-class [3]. They carried 9.86m tall Polaris SLBMs with a range of 4,600 km. Modernised Polaris sized missiles could (with lighter booster and warhead casings, smaller hypersonic warheads and more powerful propellants) have an extended range of 6 to 7,000 km.
The estimated 6,000 tonne displacement 1st and 2nd Arihants and even the estimated 7,000 tonne displacement 3rd and 4th [4] Arihants will likely be smaller and cheaper than Australia’s Virginia SSNs and SSN-AUKUSs.
Alternatively Australia could buy 4 x Virginia Block Vs [5] that are to have a much larger VLS missile compartment than Virginia Blocks I to IV. Buying full size UK Dreadnought-class or US Columbia-class SSBNs might one day be other options.
In a modified AUKUS Pillar 1 - if Australia can organise 6 SSNs by the 2040s we would would do well to complete our nuclear submarine fleet with 4 nuclear armed Baby Boomers as the best deterrents against China.
The hypersonic nuclear warheads on Submarine Launched Hypersonic Missiles (SLHMs) could be nuclear shared [6] by the US. The legal and procedural precedent of US-UK pooled Trident II missiles might also be relevant [7]. This would of course involve removing the no nuclear "explosives" portions of the AUKUS agreement [8].
The SLHM boosters might be an Australian invention or a US-Australian invention tested at Woomera weapons test range [9] in outback Australia.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INS_Arighaat
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arihant-class_submarine
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington-class_submarine
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arihant-class_submarine#Ships_in_class
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia-class_submarine#Block_V
[6] https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2023/01/us-nuclear-weapon-sharing-under-aukus.html
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trident_(UK_nuclear_programme)#Negotiations
[8] https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2024/08/a1-trillion-aukus-ssns-no-nuclear.html
[9] https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2024/09/independent-reviewwoomera-likely-for.html
Japanese ship design for Australia?
ReplyDelete"A recent report from the Yomiuri newspaper revealed
that Japan hopes to collaborate with Canberra on this
new warship – with its Mogami-class frigate specifically
singled out as a blueprint. Competing designs will also
be submitted by Germany, Spain and South Korea,
reports said.
The Australian government announced plans earlier this
year to acquire 11 new frigates to replace its ageing
Anzac-class vessels. The navy’s requirements specify
that the ships must weigh between 3,000 and 5,000
tonnes, feature at least 16 vertical-launch cells for
missiles, and include an enclosed hangar for one
helicopter."
"Brown said securing the contract would not only deepen
Japan’s partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region but also
serve as a potential launch pad for its future involvement
in the Aukus alliance between Australia, Britain and the
US.
“Japan has shown a clear interest in joining Aukus,” he
said – noting that it’s been made clear that Tokyo will not
be involved in the first pillar of the pact, which focuses on
the joint development of nuclear submarines for Australia."
See:
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3277108/japan-eyes-major-warship-deal-australia-pave-way-aukus-membership
Hi @anoymous on 6th September.
ReplyDeleteThe MHI Mogami-class is one of five mature designs that the RAN calls 'exemplar designs' for its Tier 2 General Purpose Frigate (Project Sea 3000) program https://www.australiandefence.com.au/defence/sea/project-sea-3000-what-we-know
MHI recently displayed an 'Upgraded Mogami' at an Australian defence expo, which may fit RAN requirements.
see - https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2024/07/upgraded-mogami-is-the-new-new-ffm-looking-at-australia/