AUKUS : US, UK and Australia forge military alliance to counter China

Oh good. US and China can have a proxy war and have Australia as a collateral loss. In the footnote of the map, they also need to add, not to scale.
 
??? I was replying to this post. So 'they' are aei and zack cooper

in summary: three parts of this deal raise questions:

1) This is a Frankenstein deal - Australia is going to buy a handful of two different submarines. We need to acquire allied capabilities at scale. So is this the right approach from a cost and complexity perspective?

2) Buying a few more Virginia-class subs would be cheaper and easier than a whole new AUKUS-class. So might a future Aussie government facing budget shortfalls rethink this approach and cancel its Phase 3 participation despite the political costs of doing so?

3) This plan effectively cuts 3-5 Virginia-class subs from the U.S. inventory in our greatest time of need. Australia is a sovereign country that can and should make its own deployment decisions. Is losing ~1/10th of the U.S. sub fleet the right choice in this timeframe?
(Zack Cooper)​
 
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Yo pops ! It seems not all Aussies are like you , Some of them are actually intelligent which makes them think & as with all thinking people , they then ask troubling questions like your ex PMs cutting across the political spectrum like Keating & Turnbull. According to Keating , Wong the dyke & Miles took Albanese for a ride otherwise he was , err .. for want of a better word actually intelligent .

Now he's a true Aussie like you .

@Optimist
 
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France Joins AUKUS Submarine Program​

Under extended plans, France will join the AUKUS submarine program. This will see advanced nuclear-powered attack submarines built for Australia, United Kingdom and France. The United States is also providing key elements, including interim submarines for the Royal Australian Navy.​

:)
 

in summary: three parts of this deal raise questions:

1) This is a Frankenstein deal - Australia is going to buy a handful of two different submarines. We need to acquire allied capabilities at scale. So is this the right approach from a cost and complexity perspective?

2) Buying a few more Virginia-class subs would be cheaper and easier than a whole new AUKUS-class. So might a future Aussie government facing budget shortfalls rethink this approach and cancel its Phase 3 participation despite the political costs of doing so?

3) This plan effectively cuts 3-5 Virginia-class subs from the U.S. inventory in our greatest time of need. Australia is a sovereign country that can and should make its own deployment decisions. Is losing ~1/10th of the U.S. sub fleet the right choice in this timeframe?
(Zack Cooper)​

It's possible the leased Virginias will be decommissioned by the time the AUKUS design is delivered.
 

France Joins AUKUS Submarine Program​

Under extended plans, France will join the AUKUS submarine program. This will see advanced nuclear-powered attack submarines built for Australia, United Kingdom and France. The United States is also providing key elements, including interim submarines for the Royal Australian Navy.​

:)

France has come back to haunt Australia.

I suppose they determined France's LEU reactors are the most important component versus HEU. It's the least controversial.

@Picdelamirand-oil

If only it wasn't April 1st.
 
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Yes, it is a risk. And there are so many uncertainties and problems to overcome with this aukus deal

I think most risk is political. The UK needs a new class of subs anyway, and Australia will provide additional funds for their own version. This is like India's FGFA. UK does all the work, Australia gets some production and final assembly. In the meantime, the US will provide a downgraded sub. There's no real technical risk from the Aussie side except production.

The real problem will come when others start emulating it. I don't think the US will be able to stop the Chinese from doing this with other countries after a decade. Turkey could become a potential partner alongside Iran. That's a real headache for both our countries.