Australia has much to mull for its nuke sub hull
This is HMS Ambush, the second of the RN’s Astute-class submarines, and a contender for the basis of Australia’s future SSN. (UK MoD)
The announcement of AUKUS and nuclear-propelled submarines for Australia raised more questions than it answered.
On 15 September, in a coordinated move with the UK and US, Australia startled all by announcing it would procure nuclear-powered submarines instead of 12 diesel-electric boats from Naval Group. Subsequent events indicate that its submarine procurement efforts are a disjointed fiasco.
This chaotic situation is manifested by the fact that, on the very day that the AUKUS alliance was announced, Naval Group received a Department of Defence letter stating it had accepted a proposal outlining the next phase of the five-year-old Project Sea 1000.
Indeed, Naval Group had been set a September deadline to submit acceptable revised costings
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