Sinking feeling: frigate heads back to drawing board
The navy's $35 billion fleet of new frigates is undergoing design changes because they have become too heavy, risking a cost blowout for taxpayers and potentially compromising their performance.
The Defence Department confirmed BAE System's Hunter class frigate has become longer, while its weight has increased.
BAE Systems conceded the frigate may have to swell in size but insisted it would still meet the navy's requirements.
The Australian Financial Review understands senior naval officers are beginning to have misgivings, although the relationship is nowhere near as strained as it is with the French submarine designer Naval Group.
The government selected BAE Systems in June 2018 to build nine frigates in Adelaide ahead of Spanish shipbuilder Navantia and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.
Both European shipbuilders had put forward designs based on ships already in service with their respective navies, but BAE's Type 26 was a new design and at that stage only had one ship under construction for the Royal Navy.
The initial design, as pitched to the government, gave the frigate a weight of 8800 tonnes when fully loaded and length of 149.9 metres.
The winning bid deviated from the base UK design because it was required to include the Australian developed CEA phased array radar, the American Aegis combat system and an Australian developed combat tactical interface by SAAB.
Construction of the first ship is due to start in December 2022.
Defence industry sources said incorporating the radar, which is regarded as world leading, was proving problematic because of its weight and power consumption.
Unlike conventional radars, the data processing by the CEAFAR radar is done within the mast, making it very top-heavy. It also uses more power than standard radars.
One industry source said the frigate's weight was on track to exceed 10,000 tonnes, necessitating the need for the hull to become bigger, which could affect its speed, acoustic performance and ability to conduct stealthy anti-submarine warfare operations.
A larger vessel has several flow-on costs, including construction, needing extra fuel for sailing and the provision of wharf infrastructure.
Alternatively, the navy might need to accept lower capability to keep the boat close to the original design parameters.
"Australia purchased a design concept and the design is changing significantly, and that is going to increase risk to the program," the source said.
A second source said the onus was on BAE Systems to "fix it up, because they put up a paper ship saying it could meet all the requirements, while their competitors had proven, in-service designs".
A third defence industry source likened the frigate to the car designed by cartoon character Homer Simpson, who wanted a raft of features to create the perfect car, only to create anything but.
In the frigate's case, the navy has demanded top-shelf military kit such as the radar and combat systems in a brand new design, but no builder has put the combination together before in the same vessel.
The Defence Department confirmed changes were being made.
"The first Type 26 frigate is being constructed in Glasgow and design changes flowing from production have increased the design’s baseline weight and slightly extended its overall length," it said.
"The Australian changes being made to the Type 26 design, including the incorporation of CEA Technologies’ advanced phased array radar, remain within the agreed weight and space envelopes of the Hunter Class design."
Craig Lockhart, managing director of BAE subsidiary, ASC Shipbuilding, which will construct the frigates, said the Australian version was much more complex than its British parent and the topside was different.
