Adelaide's submarine propulsion test site

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ADELAIDE, Australia, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- As Australia moves toward a new generation of submarines, Adelaide is to get a submarine test site.

The $30 million facility will be in Adelaide's Outer Harbor's Techport facility, which is being announced there by Australian Federal Defense Minister Stephen Smith, formalizing the Land Based Test Site.

The LBTS will allow indigenous Australian navy submarine propulsion systems to be tested and proved before installation in the country's new generation of diesel-powered boats designed to replace Collins class attack submarine fleet, which were constructed by the Australian Submarine Corp., a defense ministry release stated.

Smith said the future submarine project, which would create thousands of jobs in southern Australia, was to be the "largest and most complex defense project ever undertaken by Australia."

"Regardless of the submarine design option that is ultimately chosen, the establishment of the Land Based Test Site will significantly reduce the risk of delay and cost blow-outs," he said in the release.