Announced with great fanfare by the three leaders in California, Australia’s contract to buy nuclear submarines from its American and British allies raises more questions than it answers from Canberra.
US President Joe Biden alongside British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (right) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) during a press conference for the AUKUS summit on Monday at the naval base in Point Loma, San Diego, California. (Jim Watson/AFP)by Valentine Sabouraud , Melbourne correspondentpublished on March 15, 2023 at 9:07 am
368 billion dollars or 229 billion euros. After eighteen months of work, the AUKUS strategic defense partnership is confirmed in a contract for a staggering amount which seals the purchase of eight nuclear-powered submarines by Australia from its American and British allies. The announcement, made this Tuesday in San Diego during a speech which brought together Anthony Albanese , Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak , nevertheless raises many questions.
On the roadmap, however, everything seems clear. The work to come is certainly colossal, but it will run for more than three decades and the stages that make it up have been identified. The Australians will go through a training phase within the American crews, but also on the shipyards and in the specialized schools of the partner countries. In 2030, Australia is considering purchasing three to five Virginia-class submarines. And from 2040, efforts will be directed towards the manufacture of new submersibles called SSN AUKUS which will combine English design with Australian-American technologies.
Source: Liberation
