Updated 18/05 1150
Due to delays in fielding the Hunter-class frigate, the scope of the Anzac life extension program has been expanded. The Transition Capability Assurance Program (TransCap) will extend the life of each frigate by approximately nine years and involve the insertion of unspecified new capabilities. Alongside installing these new capabilities, ADM understands Defence will also need to reduce the total weight of each frigate by around 25 tonnes.
According to the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), delivery of the first Hunter-class frigate has slipped a further 16 months. In the Defence Portfolio Budget Statement (PBS) for FY 23-24, released the day before the ANAO report was made public, Defence claimed the first Hunter would be delivered in early 2031. The subsequent ANAO report found that accounting for risk and delays, that date would look more like “mid” 2032. The Hunter-class was originally scheduled to cut steel in 2020 with the first ship to enter service in the “late” 2020s.
One casualty of this further delay is Navy’s ambition to operate a fleet of nine frigates. Had the program stuck to its original schedule, the first Anzac to retire would have done so once the second Hunter had been accepted by Defence. Instead, the first ship to retire, likely HMAS Anzac, will do so when the first Hunter is delivered to (not accepted by) Defence. This pushes back a nine-frigate RAN from the early 2030s to the end of the 2040s if everything else sticks to schedule.
HMAS Anzac is set to commence TransCap in October this year followed by HMAS Warramunga sometime afterwards. The entire program is scheduled for completion by April 2026. While HMAS Anzac has the weight margin available to accommodate all of the TransCap upgrades, HMAS Warramunga does not unless more weight savings are found. One administrative measure, proposed by Defence in case it cannot secure funding or agreement for further weight savings, is simply loading the ships with less fuel for any given deployment. So far, the government has allocated $631 million over five years towards TransCap as part of Sea 5014 Phase 1.
ADM understands that TransCap includes 12 distinct capability insertions aimed at delivering capability “relevant to the threat”. These new insertions likely include previously announced enhancements including the new MASS decoys and Naval Strike Missile (NSM) as well as yet-to-be-revealed capability enhancements. These insertions will not be paid for through TransCap or Anzac sustainment funding. Instead, they will be delivered as separate projects.
“Sea 5014 Phase 1 is enabling Defence’s Anzac-class frigates to be extended to meet the delivery timeframes of the replacement platform," a Defence spokesperson said in response to questions from ADM. "Sea 5014 is being delivered as part [of TransCAP].
"The extension to the life of the Anzac-class frigate required a re-examination of the remaining margins of growth available to the ships such as weight, power and stability because these had been previously assessed on the earlier withdrawal from service.
"This is to enable normal growth in weight and power demands as well as the fitting of possible additional capability that may be needed to maintain combat relevance in the coming years.”