Japan has publicly revealed the details of its bid for the Sea 1000 Future Submarine Program indicating that they could build all submarines in Australia, but only after a mock-up boat (referred to as boat 0) was completed first.
The announcement came on the first day of the Pacific 2015 International Maritime Expo currently being held in Sydney. Japanese defence official Masaki Ishikawa said Japan would establish new design, training and sustainment centres in both Japan and Australia and seek to train an Australian workforce of 300 in both countries.
This training would be centred on the building of a mock-up submarine prior to construction of the first boat, and Ishikawa said this would take about three years.
Ishikawa could not be drawn on whether the recent change in Prime Minister had adversely affected Japan's bidding position, saying only that the two countries continued to have a very strong relationship and that Japan is the second largest trading partner with Australia.
With only six weeks remaining in the Competitive Evaluation Process (CEP), the Japanese team have a considerable task to market their bid, given their two rivals, the German TKMSA and French DCNS, both seasoned veterans of bid process, have been conducting their campaigns at full swing for many months.
The Japanese said they were pitching a design that would utilise Li-ion batteries, which in their opinion would negate the need for an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, however they said they could incorporate an AIP requirement into the design if Australia wished.
The delegation hinted that a hybrid build was their favoured option as it would save time, cost and reduce the need for Boat Zero to be completed first. Ishikawa also said Japan was not concerned about sharing vital sensitive submarine technology information with Australia.
Final bids are due towards the end of November with the Government expected to make an announcement early next year.