The Australian Government chose an Australian build to ensure our nation had the industrial and technical know-how to both construct and sustain its most sophisticated defence platform.
The project required specification, integration and installation of equipment and material from more than 150 major contractors and hundreds of smaller suppliers.
To meet the challenging operational requirements of the RAN, key performance metrics had to be met for electrical power, cooling, noise, shock resistance, weight and electromagnetic characteristics.
The success of the Collins Class program – which has been recognised in Australia and among our allies – resulted in a highly developed sovereign industrial capability and has made our country safer and more self-reliant.
Submarine Construction Statistics
| Piping | 23,500 metres |
| Major cable lengths | 7,000 |
| Cable connections | 200,000 |
| Cable | 75,000 metres |
| Batteries | 400 tonnes |
A submarine is a system of systems. A Collins Class submarine contains 108 integrated systems which are linked structurally, mechanically, electrically, hydraulically, pneumatically and electronically. All of these need power and cooling, and many need to communicate with each other in order to achieve full operational capability.
Technical Documentation
More than 33,000 drawings and 5,000 work orders were produced before construction of the Collins Class submarines could begin. Once work started, each submarine took 2.5 million hours to construct.
There are an estimated 350,000 individual technical documents associated with a Collins Class submarine, including:
Technical Documents
| Design drawings | 70,727 |
| Parts lists | 46,717 |
| Specifications | 42,865 |
