Australia : The German Submarine was Too Noisy

02 Juni 2016

An artistic impression of Type 216 that the German shipyard TKMS proposed to Australia. (image : TKMS)

The German submarine was not quiet enough. According to the newspaper The Australian, this is why Australia did not accept the offer of TKMS shipyard, preferring that of the French DCNS, to supply twelve conventional submarines.

The Australian,  Senior Australian national newspaper says that an Australian delegation went to Kiel, Friday, May 13, for the debriefing of the tender. According to the newspaper, she explained to representatives of the shipyard TKMS and the German Government that their offer was retoquée due to a level "unacceptable" to "radiated noise" at a certain frequency.

Thus, the Australian Navy has held that the design proposed by TKMS, the Type 216, did not offer sufficient guarantees, especially for intelligence missions near the coast. This technical parameter was not included in the tender because it is classified information, added the Australian, who declined to say if deemed excessive radiated noise came from the hull, propulsion or of the helix.

The Germans have hardly tasted this explanation. "The capabilities of the military industrial complex have easily solved a technical problem of this kind only if the Australians had been more forthcoming about it before we soumettions our offer" , has said a German source in the Australian.

Conversely, Australians have enjoyed the particularly stealthy nature of Shortfin Barracuda proposed by DCNS. He resume technical solutions used on nuclear submarine Barracuda attack for the Navy.

This is particularly the screw pump system that will give the Shortfin barracuda, according to Paris, a silent tactical speed than that of its German and Japanese competitors with conventional propellers.

The Australian says DCNS "worked hard behind the scenes last year to sow doubt in the minds of Australian officials about the noise level of the TKMS Submarine". Thus, DCNS have done modeling of radiated noise of Type 216 from the acoustic signature of its own submarine Scorpene to compare it with that type of Barracuda submarines.

An Australian delegation also went to Japan on 12 and 13 May According to The Australian, the same stealth issues have worked against the Japanese offer which was based on an evolution of soryu type submarine already in service.

(LeMarin)