Audit Criticises Collins Sub Program After 53 Contract Amendments and Ballooning Costs

Planned to align the 1980s vintage Collins-class submarines with their French replacements, the project failed to change strategy when the order was cancelled.

A Royal Australian Navy diesel and electric-powered Collins Class submarine sits in Sydney Harbour, on Oct. 12, 2016. Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

A plan to keep Australia’s ageing submarine fleet afloat until the arrival of replacements procured under the AUKUS agreement has been criticised by the auditor-general.

In March, the Defence Department recommended that instead of modifying and replacing obsolete equipment on the vessels that they move towards “refurbishing and maintaining existing systems.”