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Canberra concept
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In May of 2006, “Australia Issues Official Tender for A$ 2.0B Large Amphibious Ships Program” covered Australia’s decision to expand its naval expeditionary capabilities, and replace HMAS Manoora and Kanimbla with substantially larger and more capable modern designs featuring strong air support. Navantia and Tenix offered a 27,000t LHD design that resembled the Strategic Projection Ship (Buque de Proyeccion Estrategica) under construction for the Spanish Navy. The DCNS-Thales Australia team, meanwhile, proposed a variation of the 21,300t Mistral Class that is serving successfully with the French Navy.

Navantia’s larger design eventually won, giving the Spanish firm an A$11 billion clean sweep of Australia’s “Air Warfare Destroyer” and LHD programs. These 5 ships will be the core of Australia’s future surface navy, and October 2007 has now seen multi-billion contracts signed for both sets of ships. The latest inclusions involve a combat system & radar integration contract, plus additional information concerning the ships and the program…

The Winner: The Navantia-Tenix LHD

Canberra LHDs & UAV
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The Tenix-Navantia team proposed a variation of their Strategic Projection Ship (Buque de Proyeccion Estrategica) under development for the Spanish Navy. The Canberra Class design has an overall length of 230.8m/ feet, with a beam of 32.0m/ feet and a draught of 7.18m / feet that allows operation in relatively shallow water. Maximum displacement is 27,831 tonnes. Maximum speed is 20.5 knots, and the ship’s standard range is 6,100 nautical miles at 15 knots economical cruising speed using the ship’s combined diesel and gas (CODAG) propulsion. That range can be extended to 7,050 nm if speed is cut to 12 kts, and the ship can supply its complement at sea for a maximum of 50 days before requiring replenishment.

Tenix managed the RAN’s ANZAC Class frigate program, and their Canberra Class LHDs will share the same Saab 9LV combat system. Navantia, meanwhile, has just been declared the winner for Austraia’s $8 billion Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyer (Frigate) program, based on their F100 design.

Each Canberra Class LHD ship will have the ability to carry 1,221-1,403 personnel (243 crew, 978 troops, up to 36 additional crew and/or 146 troops), with 6 helicopter landing spots and a mix of troop lift (S-70 Blackhawk or NH90 TTH), naval (NH90 NFH) and armed reconnaissance (Eurocopter Tiger ARH) helicopters carried inside. The “ski jump” on the hardened flight deck can also be used to launch fixed-wing UAVs, and is acknowledged as suitable for short takeoff/ vertical landing (STOVL) fighters like the F-35B should a future government decide that this is necessary. Flight operations can be conducted up to Sea State 5.

By comparison, the Kanimbla Class LPAs carry 450 troops and can accommodate only 4 helicopters.

The new Canberra Class will also be able to transport up to 150 vehicles, including the new M1A1 Abrams tank and other elements of the “Hardened and Networked Army” such as the Bushmaster IMV and the forthcoming vehicles of Project Overlander. Maximum troop capacity is 1152 fully-equipped soldiers, and its landing craft can operate from the inclined internal well dock in conditions up Sea State 4 thanks to the dock’s central steel fender and porous “beach”.

Like the ships they will replace, each LHD will be equipped with medical facilities; their size, however, will allow these facilities to include 2 operating theaters and a hospital ward with facilities for intensive care and dependent care wards, dental surgery, plus a laboratory, X-Ray, and pharmacy.

Typhoon 25mm RWS
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Australia’s Canberra Class ships will have minimal defensive armament and systems, however. Though they will share Saab’s 9LV combat system with the ANZAC Class frigates, their Sea Giraffe AMB radars will be slated for aviation control, not missile or naval targeting. This situation could be improved in future by mounting phased array CEAFAR/CEAMOUNT radars; Australia’s ANZAC frigates are already receiving these radars as part of their anti-air upgrades, and integrating them with the same common combat system. Initially, however, the Canberras will mount only 4 RAFAEL Typhoon 25mm remote weapons systems at the corners, for fending off asymmetric threats like small boats.

The lack of anti-air missiles or even last-ditch CIWS defensive systems is an unusual decision for such a large and important ship. France’s 21,300t Mistral Class LHDs, for instance, carry a pair of Simbad launchers for short-range Mistral surface-air missiles, in addition to 30mm cannons for asymmetric warfare defense. South Korea’s 18,900t Dokdo Class LHDs sport a pair of 30mm Golakeeper CIWS cannons, and RIM-116 RAM missiles. Italy’s 27,000t Cavour Class will carry advanced Aster 15 missiles in a vertical launcher and Oto Melara 76mm cannons for defense, while the much larger 45,000t US LHD-1 Wasp Class pack a mix of Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, RAM missiles, and Phalanx CIWS cannons for 3-layered anti-air coverage.

Australia’s Department of Defence told DID that the Canberra’s concept of operations involved relying on protection from Hobart Class anti-air frigates and upgraded ANZAC Class ships, along with aerial coverage from E-737 Wedgetail AWACS et. al. (other assets will include P-8A Poseidon sea/land surveillance aircraft, and possibly long range UAVs) to ensure overwatch and protection.

Construction and Program

Australia’s Kinnaird report, undertaken after the Collins Class submarine program’s massive time and dollar overruns, emphasized the need to do more up-front work in order to improve cost and delivery estimates on defense projects. As a result approximately A$ 23 million was spent over 3 years on Canberra Class design studies.

The outcome was a mixed blessing: the Government was told at 1st Pass Approval that the Project was likely to cost of the order of A$ 600 – $900 million more than the allocated budget over the life of the program. Hence the A$ 3 billion reference, instead of the original budget figure of $2 billion. A 50% cost increase is never palatable news, but part of the reason involves inflation. When the Australian government moved to calculate the final program cost, they looked at the entire program from 2007-2015, when HMAS Adelaide is scheduled for delivery. Within that period, forecasts were made regarding inflation and materials costs in several locales: Spanish labor rates indices and costs, the 20% of the project in US dollars for the L-3 components that used American government projections, and Australian indices for the 23% “Australianization” work. Putting them together yielded a sort of “basket” of inflationary indices for the project as a whole. On top of that, Australian planners also added project management costs, project contingency funds for required infrastructure improvements to ports and berthings, etc.

The result was something of a price shock. On the other hand, there is much to be said for this approach as a way of avoiding future controversies. Knowing about the full price in budgeted dollars before a contract is awarded, and planning accordingly, certainly beats the intense project gyrations and political fallout that would follow if the government had discovered the issues after construction was underway, amidst political controversy over the cost “increases.”

Overall management of the contractors will go through lead contractor Tenix, who is partnered with Navantia for the core ship, Saab Systems for the combat system, and American firm L-3 for communications, internal LAN, etc. All of these decisions were made in conjunction with the Australian DoD, who were presented with options at each stage and made their decisions.

The ships’ hull from keel to flight deck will be built in Navantia’s modern naval shipyard in Ferrol, Spain. DID’s Spanish correspondent informs us via anonymous sources that Spain’s BPE (LHD) project has experienced some schedule issues. The were rumored to stem from not having enough cranes in the shipyard to build Norway’s Frijtof Nansen Class AEGIS frigates, Sapin’s new F-105 Alvaro de Bazan Class AEGIS frigate, and Spain’s BPE all at the same time. Word is that the delay is now solved, but it will be interesting to see whether adding 5 Australian ships to the backlog will create future issues.

Project schedule
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Once the ships’ hulls are built, they will be brought to Tenix’s Williamstown shipyard in Melbourne by heavy lift ship, where the locally built superstructure (the part that rises above the flight deck) will be joined to the hull. This effort has an estimated value of up to A$ 500 million.

The majority of combat system design and integration work will take place in Adelaide, at a cost of up to A$ 100 million. There will also be further work contracted to other states, and total Australian content is expected to be about 23%, or A$ 700 million.

After construction is done, Australian industry will also be providing full in-service support for the life of the ships. This will create a steady and reliable source of demand on Australian industry. Over the ships’ expected lifetimes of 30 years or more, the figures involved will probably amount to several times the value of the construction program.

Contracts and Key Events

Canberras concept
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Nov 23/07: Saab Systems signs an A$105 million (USD $87 million) contract with Tenix Marine to design, develop, and integrate their 9LV combat management system and Sea Giraffe AMB radar into the Canberra Class. According to Saab’s release, special features of the system will include helicopter control, watercraft control, and close in self defense against military and asymmetric threats. The Sea Giraffe’s known features include counter-battery fire tracking. Saab release.

Oct 11/07: DID explains the differences between Australian figures, and Navantia’s contract figures, following a chat with Australia’s DoD. The short answer: both figures are correct. Navantia’s figures are current-dollar costs for construction contracts, but that contract includes economic price adjustment clauses for inflation et. al. Australian government figures attempt to take inflation over the project’s lifetime into account, then add project management and contingent costs to arrive at a figure for actual dollars spent over the project’s lifetime. See “Canberra Contract Costs Clarified.”

These clarifications regarding cost and armament have been incorporated into the text above.

HMAS Manoora LPA
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Oct 9/07: It’s official. Australian Prime Minister John Howard announces the signing of a contract with Tenix, worth about A$ 3.1 billion ($2.787 billion) over 8 years [PM release | Event photo gallery | Tenix release | Navantia english release | Navantia Spanish release]. HMAS Canberra will be delivered in 2013, and HMAS Adelaide in 2015. Prime Minister Howard said :

“These 27,000-tonne ships will greatly enhance Australia’s ability to deploy forces when necessary in our region or beyond, and to provide assistance in time of natural disaster. Using their integrated helicopters and watercraft, each vessel will be able to land approximately 1,000 personnel, along with their vehicles, the new Abrams tanks, artillery and supplies. They will also be equipped with medical facilities, including two operating theatres and a hospital ward, and will be capable across the full spectrum of maritime operations, including aid to the civil community in times of natural disaster at home or abroad.”

N.B. Navantia’s release sets the contract value at a divergent EUR 1.412 billion (A$ 2.22 billion), of which EUR 915 million (A$ 1.44 billion)would go to Navantia for production estimated at 9.35 million work-hours, reflecting the current-dollar costs of the construction contract without including inflation over 8 years, project management costs, and contingent costs like improving port infrastructure et. al. See Oct 11/07 entry for more.

June 20/07: The Australian DoD announces a winner: subject to successful contract negotiations, the preferred tenderer is Tenix, with intended delivery of the ships between 2012 – 2014. The cost, meanwhile, has grown by 50% to A$ 3 billion. Navantia’s design was larger and more capable, but unlike the French Mistral Class it did not have a previous build history. In addition to capability advantages, however, Navantia-Tenix has an additional ace card to play that DCNS-Thales Australia did not:

“So that we could ensure the best possible outcomes for Australian industry and the ADF, the Government decided to consider the Amphibious Ship and Air Warfare Destroyer proposals in concert. Our decisions today mean that for decades into the future Navy’s ships will be backed by world-class industry support from Australia’s naval engineering and electronics industries. They also mean that hundreds of smaller and medium enterprises can now look to the future with confidence.”

See full DoD release.

Additional Readings

• Navantia-Tenix – LHD Program bid site

• Saab Systems Australia – Naval Systems. See also PDF brochure for their Combat Management System.

• Naval Technology – Saab Systems – Naval Command and Control Systems and Weapons Systems

• DID FOCUS Article – Aussie Anti-Air Umbrella: The Hobart Class Ships

• Australia DoD (June 20/07) – $3 Billion Amphibious Ships Will Strengthen ADF, Boost Australian Industry. Cost is up by 50% to A$ 3 billion, as Navantia’s larger design wins.

• Australia DoD (June 20/07) – LHD Questions & Answers [PDF format]

• Tenix (June 20/07) – Tenix, Navantia welcome Amphibious Ships decision. You’d hardly expect them to rubbish it, now would you?

• DCNS – Mistral Class LHD

• Defense News (May 28/07) – France Shows Off Amphib. Explains how France worked to keep the cost of the Mistral Class the same as its smaller predecessors, the 12,400 ton Foudre and Siroco. France spent about EUR 650 million ($875 million) for the Mistral and Tonnerre, thanks to a modular construction approach that used several shipyards and contractors to build different ship sections: DCN (prime contractor, aft part of the ships, integrated the combat system and completed the vessels in Brest; subcontracted more than half the after section to Stocznia Remontowa in Gdansk, Poland); Alstom Marine-Chantiers de l’Atlantique (fore sections including all living and most working spaces, propulsion pods); and Thales (design, radar surveillance system, communications system).

• Australia DoD (May 2/06) – Requests For Tender For $2 Billion Amphibious Ships Released To Australian Industry