[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by cheap

b) subs which ... still are problematic to maintain and keep at sea
c) subs which are not actually much good due to their ability to generate a lot of noise whilst underwater

According to who?

The biggest issue with the Collins boats in recent years has been having enough crew to put one to sea.

As for the Soryu class, there are a number of issues with choosing this vessel:

1) doesn't have the range of the Collins class
2) doesn't have a VLS for land-attack missiles (Defence wants land attack capability)
3) Japan intends to start removing them from service roughly the same time we start introducing them
4) They might be the bees knees now, but by 2025-2030 they won't be.

Far better to choose a design like the German Type 216 that already meets the spec and mission parameter and has advanced technologies that arent yet mainstream so that the subs have a technological edge over any potential future adversary.

As for building them here...well...uhh...I dunno. Where are they getting these costs from? The other day someone bandied around a cost of "between $50 Billion and $80 Billion" but with no proof. Sounds like a red herring to me. I think the deal has already been done...