French firm DCNS is offering Australia a new submarine design it calls the Shortfin Barracuda as its contender in the $50 billion new submarines project.
It's a conventionally powered version of its Barracuda-class nuclear attack submarine, now under construction for the French Navy, with the first of six set to be commissioned in 2017.
The smaller Australian version will be named after an indigenous species of the Barracuda found on the Great Barrier Reef.
DCNS says this boat, now in pre-concept design phase, will be the world's most advanced conventionally powered submarine.
DCNS Australia chief executive Sean Costello said exact details remain confidential but it will be more than 90 metres long and displace more than 4000 tonnes submerged.
"If selected the Shortfin Barracuda will remain in service until the 2060s and the Block 1A platform will be updated and upgraded with new technology developed in France and Australia," he said in a statement.
"The technical evolution of the submarine will be enabled by a strategic level government-to-government agreement between France and Australia."
DCNS is competing against Japan's Soryu-class and German firm TKMS' Type-216 in the evaluation process to choose Australia's next submarine.
The new one will replace the six ageing Collins boats which reach retirement age from the middle of next decade.
The government will announce the winner in the first quarter of next year.
So far only TKMS has revealed any bid details.
It says it could build 12 new submarines in Adelaide for $20 billion with the first delivered by 2025, in time to avoid any capability gap. That's the period of perhaps years following retirement of the first Collins subs when the navy has a reduced fleet to conduct operations.
TKMS has built 161 subs since 1960, 51 in customer shipyards.
It's understood DCNS will also propose to build in Australia.
DCNS bills itself as the only submarine firm in the world with both conventional and nuclear design competencies.
It has exported more than a dozen of its conventional Scorpene-class boats, most built in customer yards.
Japan is offering its Soryu-class, billed as the best large conventional boat in the world and apparently favoured by Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Unlike TKMS and DCNS offerings, Soryu is in service in the Japanese Navy.
But Japan has never exported any defence equipment, let alone something as complex as a submarine. It's unknown if it will propose to build in Australia.
TKMS is launching a national roadshow to brief Australian firms which want to work on the new subs project, should it win the contract.
That starts in Brisbane on July 21 with other briefings conducted in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Adelaide.
They will be led by TKMS Australia chairman Dr John White and other company executives.
