Australia chose Aukus and now it faces the prospect of having no submarine capability for at least a decade | Malcolm Turnbull
by Malcolm Turnbull from US news | The Guardian on (#6KKHX)
The provision of American Virginia-class subs depends on US industrial development, military needs, politics - and possibly Trump. Australia has no agency or leverage over any of these
As we contemplate the real likelihood of Trump #2, what does that mean for Aukus? We start off with absolutely no leverage.
Scott Morrison's big idea in Aukus was to cancel a submarine construction program with France which would have given us new boats to replace the Collins Class subs as they retired in the 2030s, with a partnership to build new (as yet design incomplete) nuclear powered Aukus SSN" submarines with the UK assisted by the United States, the first of which would not be available, assuming all went on time, until the 2040s.
Continue reading...