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Large Strategic Sealift

The 2016 Defence White Paper provided an option for “an additional logistic support ship similar to HMAS Choules in the late 2020s” in addition to replacing Choules, but on first review would appear an unlikely option.

Important questions should be answered about how Army will be transported and supported for the increased regional engagement Government requires of the ADF. Additionally, force projection of the heavier Land 400 and Land 121 equipped army requires careful consideration. While airlift offers significant advantages in responsiveness, and provides an essential element of the ADF’s logistics supply chain, movement by sea is the only practical means to transport the volume of equipment required to deploy and support a land force independent of another nation. The robust joint force demanded by the White Paper will only be realised if there is a shared view in Defence on how joint land combat is executed across the spectrum of conflict and also how a joint land force is supported from the sea.

Sea lift is delivered primarily by HMAS Choules (LSD) and from 2030, her replacement, which presumably will be a ship with similar capabilities. Choules can deliver about 1200 lane meters of vehicles an equipment and an additional twelve 40’ TEU containers. She is able to embark a landing craft in her well-dock to transport stores and equipment across a beach. The discharge rate can be enhanced, sea state permitting, by the slower yet higher capacity Mexeflotes. The flight deck allows for operation of up to CH47 sized aircraft.

The IIP and the 2016 Defence White Paper identify the Canberra Class Amphibious Ships as having a secondary sea-lift role. Each Canberra Class Amphibious Ship would therefore contribute just under 1000 lane meters.

In summary, the ADF can currently transport in excess of 3,200 lane meters of equipment in a single lift. Is this too little, too much, or just right to support the joint land force?

This is a difficult question. One of Army’s differentiators is its flexibility. Army can modify the force package to meet the mission, the threat, or the available supporting assets (such as sea lift). Projects such as Land 121, Land 400, Land 17, and Land 907, not only modernise Army, but will dramatically change our shape and form. While each project will deliver a different outcome, there is an undeniable theme - Army is getting more heavily protected. As each project is delivered, it appears inconceivable that a Combat Team, Battle Group or Brigade will be smaller, lighter or less protected than today. The consequence is that logistic support requirements of the future force will only increase.

Further, while all 1200 lane meters of Choules can accommodate heavy vehicles, only the 350 lane metre heavy vehicle deck of the LHD can embark heavy-weight vehicles. This may have been adequate when the relatively light weight M113, ASLAV, Mack, Unimog and Land Rover vehicles were the mainstay of Army. However, the evolving force, of CRV, Land 400-3 IFV and Rheinmetall-Mann trucks, which are essential to meet Government’s demands on Army, are likely to quickly bulk out the LHD heavy vehicle deck and a single LSD is an unassured capability. The total capacity for ADF sea lift for heavy vehicles is 1700 lane meters, perhaps now insufficient for deploying follow on forces or sustaining the deployed combat brigade.

The adequacy of the current sea-lift capability also needs to be tested against the strategic need for concurrent sea-lift and amphibious operations. If it is determined that the need exists then the ADF force structure of two Canberra Class Amphibious Assault Ships and a LSD is unlikely to meet the need to deploy and sustain a land force ashore, except if that force is unprotected.

Instead of a third replenishment ship and a Choules replacement, an alternative is a pair of a new class of multi-role ships that offer both sea-lift and replenishment capabilities. Enter the Joint Logistic Support Ship of The Royal Netherlands Navy - HNLMS Karel Doorman.

HNLMS Karel Doorman (A833) is capable of conducting both replenishment at sea and sea-lift. At 27,800 tons fully loaded she is comparable in size to the Canberra Class LHDs. She has almost double general storage capability of HMAS Choules (2000LM), double the ammunition capacity (400 tons) and double the fresh water (400 tons) of Cantabria. The general stores area can embark more than10 times the equipment of Cantabria (5000 tons) and with her current design she can accommodate 150 embarked forces, has dedicated embarked forces planning spaces and two operating theatres. She has hanger space for two CH47 with blades extended or six MRH90s with blades folded. A trial with USMC MV22 Osprey has been conducted included five landings and a refuelling serial. In addition to a 40-ton crane and RO/RO ramp capable of supporting M1A1, she has a steel beach to enable off loading via her davit launched landing craft.

This is not without its trade offs. The sustained speed of Karel Doorman is two knots slower than the Cantabria Class, which could slow a surface action group. She has two RAS stations, not the four of Cantabria and Success, reducing her ability to conduct concurrent refuelling missions. She carries 5% less diesel (8615 tons) and half the aviation fuel (810 tons) of Cantabria. Without a well dock consuming a large portion of her internal volume the designers have achieved a very large fuel and cargo capacity. However, the steel beach is more susceptible to weather, and the only integral method to discharge cargo away from a wharf is via a relatively small davit launched landing craft. Interestingly, there has been criticism of multi-role platforms such as Karel Doorman. The respected naval engineering firm BMT published a paper on these issues which concluded:

“Ultimately, a multi-role ship offers the ability to gain extra capabilities for a modest increase in procurement budget, provided the expectation is limited. The multi-role ship is therefore not a true replacement of single role vessels as it must always compromise some performance aspects”.

The 2016 Defence White Paper confirmed what many in Army have believed for a generation – that the likelihood of the invasion of Australia is remote. Therefore, if Army is to employ combat power it will be beyond our shores. Whether these operations are unilateral or in coalition, beyond our local region or in it, and regardless of where the mission fits in the spectrum of conflict, Army needs to deploy and be supported away from Australia. Air-lift can not delivery the necessary volume to support moderate sized deployments, necessitating Army’s reliance on sea based support. The decisions taken by Government on the future replenishment, sea-lift, amphibious or logistic support ships are therefore germane to Army’s capacity to win the land battle.

The Joint Support Ship (JSS) was designed in-house by Navantia Australia’s design center of excellence based in Melbourne. The facility was opened in 2018 with the aim of increasing the sovereign capability of Navantia Australia. The JSS was designed for an upcoming need of the Royal Australian Navy. Navantia Australia expecte this will come out in late 2020. The Australian need is likely to be for 1 or 2 units. The design was unveiled at PACIFIC 2019, the naval defense exposition held October 2019 in Sydney, Australia.

Experience with AWD and the ANZAC Ship Projects and more recently the Canadian Joint Support Ship (JSS) Project (two supply ships for the Canadian Navy) suggests five to six years is required from the initial approach to industry for a design through to the contract award and "cut steel". In November 2010, Canada announced a decision to commence design studies through release of a Request for Proposal to Navantia and TKMS for the JSS Project. The JSS specification was closely aligned with that produced for SEA1654-3. These extended schedules for construction of a supply ships are associated with the requirement to adapt the design and where appropriate the shipyard facilities to achieve productivity gains associated with larger block construction.

The design has a length of 176 meters, a beam of 25 meters. JSS has a maximum speed of 20 knots and a range of 6,000 nautical miles. The CGI unveiled by Navantia Australia at PACIFIC 2019 featured two PHALANX CIWS, decoy launchers, a multifunction radar and two fueling stations (one port, one starboard side).