Australian Submarines 'Poor Value for Money'

Australia's insistence on maintaining a strong defence industry means it pays vastly more than other nations for its equipment, a study has found.Conducted in the United States by McKinsey consultants, the study raises further concerns about the Rudd government's plans to acquire 12 submarines to replace the trouble-plagued Collins class vessels.The report ranked the US and Australia equal last out of 33 countries on a measure of defence equipment output versus expenditure. Brazil, Poland and Russia headed the table.''In general, countries that make it a point to support their domestic defence industries have higher procurement costs than those that rely on imports,'' the report says. ''Countries that procure older equipment from the global market tend to have very capable fleets for less money.''The new submarine fleet for Australia was proposed in a defence white paper last year.The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), in a study last year, put a price tag of $9 billion on buying off-the-shelf European submarines, and $36 billion on an Australian design and build.............................................Defense-Aerospace

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