Australia's ageing submarine fleet positively reviewed in latest report

Australia's ageing fleet of Collins-class submarines has been given a positive review, with a submarine expert reporting the performance of the fleet would graduate from mediocre to excellent within four years.

John Coles, UK submarine expert said with similar levels of funding, the performance of Australia's Collins-class subs -- which have been in service since 1996 -- would improve substantially over the next four years.

His review found that two of the six Collins-class submarines were available for use more than 90 percent of the time, three subs were available for operations 50 percent of the time, and four were available 'occasionally' since 2014.

He also applauded the efficiency of Australia's fleet; previously, full cycle maintenance took up to four years and was undertaken every eight years, while now it's done for two years every 10 years.

"If there were unit citation medals to be awarded, the Submarine Enterprise would surely qualify," Coles said in his report, released on Friday.

Meanwhile Australia's Defence Minister, Marise Payne said the nation's submarine fleet had played -- and would continue to play -- a key role in national security.

"Improvements to the availability and reliability of the Collins Class submarines means that they can spend more days at sea conducting exercises and operations that directly contribute to our strategic defence capability," Payne said in a statement following the release of the report.

Australia's six Collin-class submarines are due to be superseded by 12 new Barracuda-class submarines in 2030. The government signed a deal with French shipbuilder DCNS earlier this year. Endit