1 January 1982
In January 1982, the New Submarine Project Office was set up. Submarine builders and designers around the world were invited to register their interest. They were invited to offer a replacement for the Oberon-class submarines.
Australia wanted 6 conventional submarines. They would be built in Australia and to Australian specifications.
In the end, two out of seven submissions were selected to compete for the final design of the submarine:
- the Type 471 from Kockums, in Sweden
- the IKL 2000 from the consortium of Ingenieurkontor Lübeck (IKL), Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW) and the Ferrostaal Group of the Federal Republic of Germany.
In May 1987 Minister of Defence Kim Beazley announced that the government had chosen the Swedish design. The Australian Submarine Corporation Pty Ltd (ASC) would build them in Adelaide at a cost of $3.9 billion. The plan was to begin building in 1989, launch over 1993 and 1994, and commission in mid-1995.
The project faced several technical problems and cost overruns. Nevertheless, the acquisition became a success by global standards. Australia introduced its own standards, definitions and technical codes. This was so that the Australian workforce and supply chain could build and sustain the submarines.
The ASC built all the Collins-class submarines in Australia. As promised, they learned and adopted the processes and technology involved in modern submarines. In an improvement on the Oberon-class, all sustainment costs were borne by an Australian supply chain and an Australian shipyard. This was an example of Australia’s ability to take on a construction challenge it had never attempted before.