7News Sydney on May 20, 2017, 10:34 pm
It seems the Australian Navy has bought a
couple of multi-billion dollar lemons.
The two brand new hulking ships that are
berthed at Woolloomooloo have broken down – and the navy now says they have
design flaws.
At $3 billion, HMAS Adelaide and Canberra
were meant to be the pride of the fleet.
But like a dodgy car, Defence chiefs are
checking the warranty to see who pays to fix the flaw.
Built for supremacy of the sea, HMAS Adelaide
can only float in limbo now.
It's in dry dock; pored over by engineers for
months and still nobody knows definitively what's wrong with her.
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek said,
"It's very concerning to see any of our ships out of service."
"It really is important that the
government reassure Australians that these ships will be back in service
quickly," she said.
The HMAS Canberra's captain, Captain Jonathan
Sadlier, had said he expected to see the ship's worth "over the next two
to three years".
Now the ships' strategic worth: worthless.
Peter Dean of the Strategic Defence Studies
Centre, said the "technology is proven technology".
"It's a capability that had been
employed on many, many other ships around the world," he said.
For the first time, naval bosses concede our
ships may have design flaws.
The hull was built in Spain, but transported
to Australia where we built the internal fit out, including the ships'
malfunctioning propulsion systems.
"I suspect it is a faulty part, and I
suspect Seamans will be looking to address it pretty quickly," Mr Dean
said.
With a crew of 400, the Adelaide and Canberra
were designed to carry six helicopters on the flight deck, 10 more below,
tanks, armour personnel carriers, Land Rovers.
They can also carry up to 1000 army
personnel, special forces and landing craft that could storm a beach or, more
likely, provide masses of aid to cities ravaged by
Original post: nz.news.yahoo.com
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