Collins Class Submarine Replacement Project - Construction

Construction

Initially, the Australian government promised that the government-owned ASC, the company responsible for building the Collins class, would build the new submarines. However, it announced in May 2009 that a request for tender would be released for the construction work. The submarines will be built at ASC's shipyard in Osborne, South Australia; if a company other than ASC is the successful tenderer, they will be granted access to the site. Construction is predicted to occur over a 25 year period, with the new submarines operating until the 2070s.

In December 2010, an update to the 2009 Defence Capability Plan forecast the cost of the project as over A$10 billion. However, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has predicted that the new submarines will cost over A$36 billion to design and build, with construction of each submarine valued between A$1.4 and A$3.04 billion. The Collins replacement project has been identified as the most expensive ever undertaken by the Australian Defence Force.

Instead of building all twelve submarines to the same design, building them in 'batches' is under consideration. Doing so would allow new technologies and improved equipment to be added to the latter submarines through evolving design and research work, but would likely come at an increased cost.