Defence Minister Richard Marles had never uttered the word “snorting” publicly until Tuesday. But to understand why Australia is racing to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered subs for hundreds of billions of dollars, it’s a crucial concept to understand.
– similar to whales blowing – to expel contaminants, replenish their oxygen supplies and recharge batteries. Diesel-powered submarines like Australia’s current Collins-class vessels have to snort regularly to continue to operate.
But rapid advances in radar detection and artificial intelligence are making it easier for other militaries to detect even brief “snorts”. As Marles said on Tuesday, the increased ability for “the process of snorting to be detected” explains why the current Collins-class submarines are becoming obsolete for Australia’s needs.
This urgent need led to the breakthrough development few experts saw coming: the purchase of at least three, and maybe as many as five, Virginia-class submarines from the United States. This will require Australia to spend billions of dollars subsidising shipbuilding in America on top of the cost of buying the boats themselves.
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