WWW.NAVYLEAGUE.ORG.AU • @NAVYLEAGUEAUST • OCT-DEC 2018 VOLUME 80 No.4 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NAVY LEAGUE OF AUSTRALIA THE HUNTERS ARE COMING WARSHIP DESIGN IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD SUSTAINING AUSTRALIA’S THE KAISER AND HIS EMERGING EXPEDITIONARY GRAND STRATEGY IN CAPABILITY THE MIDDLE EAST $5.95 INC.GST AUSTRALIA’S LEADING NAVAL MAGAZINE SINCE 1938 is the tailoring of purpose-built logistic solutions which deliver the most effective, efficient and sustainable outcomes for our clients. Our engineered approach is built on STRANG’s 90 years of experience, expertise, dedication and innovation. STRANG engineers world-leading solutions encompassing Supply Line Logistics, Project Freight Forwarding, Advisory Services and Port and Terminal Operations. We Engineer these Logistic Solutions globally, for example at Port Ehoala Madagascar depicted above, where we provide cargo handling, logistics, stevedoring and port services. Contact us www.stxgroup.com.au +61 2 9669 1099 Volume 80 No.4 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NAVY LEAGUE OF AUSTRALIA FEDERAL COUNCIL President: Matthew Rowe Immediate Past President: Graham M Harris, RFD 07 THE HUNTERS ARE COMING Senior Vice-President: John Jeremy, AM By Dr Roger Thornhill Vice-Presidents LCDR Roger Blythman, RFD, Mark Schweikert Hon. Secretary: LCDR Adrian Borwick, RAN (Rtd) 12 THE KAISER AND HIS GRAND STRATEGY PO Box 2495, Chermside Centre, Qld 4032 Email: [email protected] IN THE MIDDLE EAST By Professor Robert O’Neill NEW SOUTH WALES DIVISION INCLUDING AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY Patron: His Excellency, The Governor of New South Wales 22 WARSHIP DESIGN IN A President: R O Albert, AO, RFD, RD Hon. Secretary: Elizabeth Sykes RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD GPO Box 1719, Sydney, NSW 2001 By John Jeremy Telephone: (02) 9232 2144 Email: [email protected] 27 SUSTAINING AUSTRALIA’S EMERGING VICTORIA DIVISION INCLUDING TASMANIA EXPEDITIONARY CAPABILITY: Patron: Her Excellency, The Governor of Victoria ADDING TO THE “KIT” President: LCDR Roger Blythman, RFD Hon. Secretary: Ray Gill JP By George Galdorisi Correspondence: PO Box 2340, Mt Waverley Vic 3149 Email: [email protected] QUEENSLAND DIVISION Patron: His Excellency, The Governor of Queensland President: Harvey Greenfield Hon. Secretary: LCDR Adrian Borwick, RAN (Rtd) Correspondence: PO Box 2495, Chermside Centre, Qld 4032 State Branch: Cairns: A Cunneen, PO Box 1009, Cairns, Qld 4870 Telephone: (07) 4054 1195 REGULAR FEATURES 02 From the Crow’s Nest SOUTH AUSTRALIA DIVISION INCLUDING NORTHERN TERRITORY 04 League Policy Statement Patron: His Excellency, The Governor of South Australia President: Dean Watson, RFD 05 The President’s Page Hon. Secretary: Miss J E Gill PO Box 3008, Unley, SA 5061 06 Letters Telephone: (08) 8272 6435 17 Flash Traffic WESTERN AUSTRALIA DIVISION 21 Red Duster Patron: His Excellency, The Governor of Western Australia Book Review President: Peter Jarvis 32 Email: [email protected] Hon. Secretary: CMDR J O’Neill 11 Georgetown Drive, Malibu WA 6169 Mobile: 0413 688 447 Email: [email protected] All letters and contributions to: Corporate Members The Office of The Editor Maritime Industry Australia Ltd THE NAVY Strang International Pty Ltd Navy League of Australia GPO Box 1719 Sydney, NSW 2001 The opinions or assertions expressed in THE NAVY are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Federal Council of the Navy League of Australia, the E-mail to: [email protected] Editor of THE NAVY, the RAN or the Department of Defence. The Editor welcomes All Subscriptions, Membership and Advertising correspondence, photographs and contributions and will assume that by making submissions, contributors agree that all material may be used free of charge, enquiries to: edited and amended at the Editor’s discretion. No part of this publication may be The Hon Secretary reproduced without the permission of the Editor. Navy League of Australia, NSW Division Front cover: GPO Box 1719, Sydney NSW 2001 A computer generated image of a Hunter-class frigate to replace the Anzac class frigates of the RAN. Nine are to be produced in three Batch builds. (BAE) Deadline for next edition 5 November 2018 FROM THE CROW’S NEST By Aeneas A SOVEREIGN FUTURE? The final 2018 issue of The NAVY begins with a review of the sharing information, data, and technology. It is not perfect, new Hunter-class Frigates by Dr Roger Thornhill (see also but the culture does extend commercially, contractually and Letters), followed by a paper on Gallipoli and Australia’s role economically to underwrite engagements at different levels. in that campaign by Professor Rob O’Neill. The third paper is by It is explicably not the same as a contract between Australia John Jeremy and returns to warship design. The final paper is and Naval Group to build the Future Submarine. The French by Captain George Galdorisi USN (Ret.) examining the ‘refitting Government, while anxious to deliver the product, fundamentally of the ADF’. sees Australia’s Future Submarine as a commercial arrangement Where is Australia? This is not the same as the Quo Vadis – other than where the transfer of nationally-safeguarded question raised by Reay Atkinson and Bogais in the Apr-Jun (sovereign) technology and IP is concerned. And the US regards Issue. But the two are clearly connected; linking also to the the contract with France similarly – with the potential risk of future of the Navy League of Australia, and The NAVY. reverse flows occurring between Australia and France. This is The NLA, The NAVY, and the Honourable Kim Beazley AC, the different to contractual and commercial arrangements with and Governor of Western Australia and NLA Patron, amongst others between Five Eyes nations. have had a long-standing geopolitical, strategic view that Additionally, to the U.S., Five Eyes is something of an aberration; Australia needs to return to the seas if it is to secure a place typically set alongside other biltatrerals, for example between at the top-tables of the 21st, and succeeding centuries. This is the U.S. and Japan, and the U.S. and Israel. It means less, evident in the decision to proceed with the purchase of twelve therefore, to the U.S. than it does, say, to Canada or U.K. Future Submarines from France’s Naval Group as a ‘Sovereign From the perspective of The NAVY, the Hunter-class was Capability’. It is also true of the decision to purchase nine the correct decision for Australia for a number of reasons; Hunter-class ASW Frigates from the UK Company BAE Systems. including, significantly, its Five Eyes progeny (unlike the Future Submarine and OPVs). The other significant reason is that, being amongst the first to build and (initially) the majority partner gives Australia the implicit opportunity to leverage a SEA 5000 sovereign capability. This is also expressed in the contract, whereby BAE Systems manages the programme, and at its end Australia resumes complete ownership of ASC Shipbuilding. This will be no easy challenge. There are strong competitive reasons why originating nations will not want to transfer their Ricardian comparative advantages to Australia. Ultimately, Australia is going to have to fight for and, or, pay for that knowledge and, where it is not provided or available to create, invent, and design it for itself – keeping it alive for the full class life-cycle. This raises the question ‘what does a sovereign capability look like?’ In previous years, it would have Batch 3 Type 12M / Leander-Class Frigate HMS ACHILLES (F12) June 1987. been represented by heavy industry, and the ability to make steel and build ships. To a great extent it still is. But today, the The two build contracts are different and similar: plus ça change, sovereign capability may not be in the physical artefact but in plus c’est la même chose. Whereas the Future Submarine the algorithm or App that makes a capability do the things it (SEA 1000) programme is devised about achieving a sovereign needs to do. That is what is going to keep our children and their submarine capability in Australia, the same is not explicitly the children environmentally, economically and physically secure in case for the Future Frigate (SEA 5000). On the other hand, like years to come. the Future Submarine, the Type 26 / Global Combat Ship (GCS) / Considering the Joint Strike Fighter F-35 (Lightning II), Hunter-class does not yet exist. Under current UK planning, the Australia, through its deal with the U.S., will probably own at thirteen ships to be built for the RN has been reduced to eight, most 15-20% of the IP necessary to call the aircraft Australian. and possibly even five. Consequently, Australia’s initial build of The UK, through their deal / proximity with the U.S. and nine will be commensurate with RN builds – and possibly the remaining industry, will own that much more – possibly as much first ship to be commissioned (if not built). The RAN variant will currently be the majority of the class (53-64%). While there remains a possibility that the GCS will become a truly international class (as per the UK Type 12 / Type 12M / Leander classes (1955-2004/5)) with potential builds for the RCN, USN, and possibly RNZN. The Hunter-class has a number of advantages – one of them being that it is likely to be a Five Eyes capability. This is not to claim the ship or the companies involved in building it as Five Eyes entities. Five Eyes is a unique sovereign-to-sovereign capability; connecting back to the 1946 SIGINT agreement between the U.S. and UK, and subsequently extended to include Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. What Five Eyes means is that these five countries have a deep, established culture in Shortfin Barracuda SEA 1000 (Image DCNS). 02 THE NAVY VOL.