And the Germans have never built submarines anywhere near as large as the long-range, 4,000-tonne Barracuda made by DCNS.
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Japan was the early favourite to win the bid and last November its defence minister said handing Tokyo the contract would help bolster regional security, with some senior U.S. officials, including former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage, also backing a Japanese build.
“This is securing the future of Australia’s navy”, Mr. Turnbull said in the Australian city of Adelaide, where the fleet of 12 submarines will be built. But economics also appeared to play a role in the decision, with Turnbull and Defence Minister Marisa Payne repeating a mantra of “Australian jobs and Australian steel” during Tuesday’s news conference. According to commentators, the development comes as a blow to Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s push to develop defence export capabilities.
Construction of new offshore patrol vessels starts in Adelaide in 2018, then transfers to Western Australia to make way for construction of nine future frigates, scheduled to start in 2020.
A proposal to replace the subs was first floated in 2009 but the tender was eventually narrowed down in February 2015 to three contenders who were invited to enter a competitive evaluation process.
Australia is increasing its spending on defence, to protect its strategic and trade interests in the Asia-Pacific as the United States and its allies grapple with China’s rising power.
“The geopolitical advantages of strengthening the relationship with Japan were not sufficient to overcome whatever commercial and technical advantages the French bid had”, said Mark Thomson, a defense economics analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra.
A senior official of the Defense Ministry said, “France was good at business” and expressed his view that Japan’s lack of experience and achievement in arms exports resulted in the defeat.
DCNS has said it planned to build a 4,500-tonne conventionally-powered version of its 4,700 ton Barracuda, to be named Shortfin Barracuda. A successful bid would also have helped Abe promote his idea of a “security diamond”, linking Japan with Australia, the USA and India to counter China’s maritime expansion and secure freedom of navigation in the region.
Turnbull said that the selection team had been “unequivocal” that DCNS had offered the capabilities best able to meet Australia’s needs, which included superior sensor performance and stealth characteristics, as well as range and endurance. The decision to build a new fleet of submarines in partnership with DCNS represented “a momentous national endeavour”, he said.
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The head of Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, Hideaki Watanabe, told reporters the outcome was “extremely regrettable”. This $50 billion investment will directly sustain around 1,100 Australian jobs and a further 1,700 Australian jobs through the supply chain.
