Key Points and Summary – Australia’s Collins-class submarines entered service in the late 1990s under a cloud: they were noisy, unreliable, and hampered by training shortfalls.
-Over time, targeted upgrades and a professionalized submariner pipeline transformed the boats into credible undersea assets.
SSN-AUKUS Submarine. Image is Creative Commons Artist Rendering.
-Their reputation rose after early-2000s exercises in which Collins-class subs, including HMAS Waller, scored simulated kills—reportedly slipping through carrier screens and closing on U.S. Navy high-value ships. Those results came with caveats: exercises are controlled, and success depends on scenario design.
-The episodes reshaped perceptions at home. Now Australia is extending Collins into the late 2030s as it transitions to nuclear-powered AUKUS submarines.
From Early Misfires to Quiet Credibility: How Collins-Class Earned Respect by Aircraft Carrier ‘Sinking’
The Royal Australian Navy’s Collins-class of diesel-electric submarines entered Australian service in the late 1990s.
It replaced the Oberon-class, which was less capable than its counterparts in the Royal Navy and U.S. Navy.
The new class was controversial from the start. It made a high amount of noise while underway, suffered mechanical issues, and was plagued by operational problems.
As time went on, however, Canberra upgraded the submarines and improved its submariner training pipeline, giving the class of submarines credibility within the Australian military.
It also earned respect abroad thanks to its performance when the submarines participated in multinational exercises.
Los Angeles-Class Submarine. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Collins-class’ peak moment came in the early 2000s, during an exercise with the most capable navy in existence: the U.S. Navy.
Australia’s Collins-class submarines notched several simulated “kills” against U.S. Navy vessels during the course of several multinational exercises in the early 2000s—including simulated torpedo strikes against an aircraft carrier, as well as nuclear attack submarines.
One of the more noteworthy incidents involved the HMAS Waller. The Collins-class submarine was participating in U.S.-led war games around Hawaii and in the waters to Australia’s north. Though the Waller initially integrated with a U.S. carrier battle group, the submarine also played an opposing enemy submarine.
While playing the adversarial role, the Waller reportedly penetrated the carrier group’s submarine screens and managed to make close-in observations of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72).
Australian media lauded the submarine’s effort, though reporting at the time stressed that the feat was perhaps not representative of the submarine’s capabilities during a real conflict scenario.
“Neither achievement is a useful guide to performance unless you understand the full context,” a naval source told the Australian Financial Review.
“Photographing aircraft carriers is a submarine pastime,” a former officer added, explaining, “exercises are designed so that everybody goes home happy.”
But, at the very least, “under controlled exercise conditions,” the Australian submarine “evaded US, Japanese, Canadian, Chilean, Korean and British forces and provided photographic proof that it was well within torpedo firing range of a major and heavily defended U.S. prize.”
SOUTH CHINA SEA (June 16, 2021) The NavyÕs only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) transits the South China Sea. Reagan is part of Task Force 70/Carrier Strike Group 5, conducting underway operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Rawad Madanat)
A U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 115 launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) in the western Pacific Ocean Nov. 11, 2017. The Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt and Nimitz strike groups are underway conducting flight operations in international waters as part of a three-carrier strike force exercise. The U.S. Pacific Fleet has patrolled the Indo-Pacific region routinely for more than 70 years promoting regional security, stability and prosperity.
Out with the Old, in with the New
Fast forward to today, and the Royal Australian Navy is more than ready to ditch its Collins-class submarines.
In 2021, Australia turned heads when it revealed a trilateral defense partnership with the United Kingdom and the United States.
The agreement, known as AUKUS, was just the second time the United States has shared the crown jewel of its nuclear deterrence—the nuclear propulsion technology that powers America’s submarines.
The Australian decision to join the grouping was also a significant snub to the French. In 2016, Canberra had forged a deal with France’s Naval Group for a 12-boat diesel-electric submarine fleet, a modified variant of France’s Barracuda-class submarines.
However, overtures by the United Kingdom and the United States proved too attractive to pass up. Once realized, the deal will offer Australia a superior submarine fleet with unlimited endurance.
The decision was met with consternation in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron went so far as to accuse Australia of deception and betrayal, saying Canberra negotiated the deal in parallel to the deal with Naval Group, and in bad faith.
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PHILIPPINE SEA (Nov. 15, 2018) Sailors prepare an F/A-18 Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 115, for take-off from the flight deck of the forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) during dual carrier operations with USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). Ronald Reagan and John C. Stennis are underway and conducting operations, in international waters as part of a dual carrier strike force operations. The U.S. Navy has patrolled the Indo-Pacific region routinely for more than 70 years promoting regional security, stability, and prosperity. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jason N. Tarleton/Released)
He added that the deal was tantamount to a “stab in the back.” If reporting is accurate, Naval Group learned that their deal with the Australians fell through just hours before the public announcement of AUKUS.
Postscript: Australia Can Indeed Sink Aircraft Carriers and the Future Is Coming
Australia justified the decision to scrap the deal with the French as strategically necessary and therefore justified.
AUKUS, meanwhile, is not quite the end of the line for the Collins-class. Before Australia can accept nuclear-powered submarines into service, Canberra needs to broaden its defense industrial base to sustain the subs.
Its sailors must also become familiar with nuclear submarine safety, technology, and operations.
In the meantime, the Collins-class will remain in service until the late 2030s thanks to a comprehensive life extension program.
They probably won’t score any hits, real or simulated, until then. Still, the submarines have had a pretty good voyage, all things considered.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe.
