ASC, which maintains the existing fleet of six Collins Class submarines that it also built, is performing poorly and badly needs an overhaul, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.

ASC is a wholly government-owned defense company headquartered at Osborne in Adelaide, South Australia. Government plans to sell the business have been delayed because of the current global financial climate.

Criticism in the Herald report over ASC performance has come from unnamed sources in the Department of Defense and the Royal Australian Navy. ''Sustainment of the Collins is a very big contract for a critical national security capability,'' the source said.

The navy is concerned that it is unable to get more than three of the submarines to sea at any one time, the report noted. "There are serious issues and there is a lot of work to do.''

The diesel-electric Collins-class boats were built by ASC, formerly the Australian Submarine Corp., between 1996 and 2003 to replace six Oberon-class boats commissioned between 1967 and 1978. It maintains the six submarines for their operational lifespan under a $3 billion contract.

The Herald report also shows concern over how ASC will be able to carry out its share of the work on three air warfare destroyers being built for nearly $7 billion.

In 2005 ASC was selected by the government, ahead of two other bidders, as the preferred shipbuilder for three new AEGIS-based Australian air warfare destroyers under the Sea 4000 project. The destroyers are scheduled for service in 2013.

The unnamed source also said that despite an international search, ASC has not found a chief executive, possibly because the business is not paying enough to get top talent interested.

The timing of the criticism is crucial for both the government and ASC. In mid August Australia moved a step closer to building the dozen submarines in the country's most expensive ever defense procurement project at nearly $17 billion.

The minister for defense, Sen. John Faulkner, called for a request for tender to complete a domestic design study for the Future Submarine Project, named SEA 1000. The government wants a fuller understanding Australia's domestic design and build capabilities when it comes to letting out contracts for the main work.

"The procurement of Australia's future submarine will be Australia's largest ever single defense project and will form a critical part of the nation's future defense force," said Faulkner.

"Investigations by the Future Submarine Project Office to date have covered a number of diverse areas aimed at developing an understanding of the capability of the international submarine industry."

The Herald newspaper report also comes as Greg Combet, minister for defense personnel, materiel and science, is visiting the United States for a series of meetings on defense, including the Future Submarine project.

Combet will also discuss options for the purchase of 100 Joint Strike Fighters for around $14 billion. He plans to have meetings over issues under the Australian-United States Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty, his office said in a written statement.

Combet will be in the United States until Oct. 6.

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