The Australian Government has signed a $322 million, five-year contract with Raytheon Australia to provide in-service support for the Collins class submarine combat system during Australia’s transition to nuclear-powered submarines.
Deputy Secretary Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Tony Dalton said the support would include a life-of-type extension – commencing in 2026, ongoing sustainment, and selected capability enhancements.
“The ongoing sustainment and upgrade of these boats will help maintain a capability advantage and ensure our fleet is ready to meet the challenges across our strategic environment,” Dalton said.
“We are committed to working closely with industry to sustain our Collins class submarines, an important task that currently supports over 1600 jobs across South and West Australia.”
Raytheon Australia has been providing a range of support services for the Collins class submarine combat system since its introduction into service, developing a local workforce of approximately 133 people across Australia.
Rear Admiral Peter Quinn, Head of Navy Capability, a few months ago disclosed that work was underway to ascertain the feasibility of equipping the RAN’s Collins-class submarine fleet with UGM-10E Tomahawk land attack missiles (TLAM).
"We’re doing the work to look at what it would take to put Tomahawk into those (Collins-class) ships,” he told a media briefing.
A Defence spokesperson added some detail to ADM, in confirming that Defence was “working with ASC and Raytheon Australia as the Collins-class submarine platform and combat systems integration partners, and with support from the US Navy, to examine the feasibility of integrating the Tomahawk missile capability in the Collins-class submarines.
The Collins LOTE (Project CN62 – previously Sea 1450) will involve a two-year upgrade for each 3,100-tonne Collins boat on reaching 30 years of service – the first starting with HMAS Farncomb in May 2026, the five others at two-year intervals – that will extend their operational life by 10 years and enhance their capabilities, although the emphasis will primarily be on updating and renewing ship systems.
The combat effectiveness of the platform is largely maintained under Sea 1439, a separate multi-year, multi-phase program which involves continuous improvements to sensors and systems.