Australian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

The Australian SSN deal with the US and UK naturally upsets France.

A new plan to equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines using US and UK technology may be aimed to counter China, but steps on the toes of NATO ally France, which lost a massive shipbuilding contract with Canberra.

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French shipbuilder Naval Group reportedly expressed “disappointment” at the announcement, as it meant Canberra was abandoning their contract for a dozen diesel-electric submarines. The Australian press has reported the value of that contract at $90 billion AUS (56 billion euros, or $66 billion US).

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Canberra’s “regrettable” decision was “contrary to the letter and the spirit of the cooperation which prevailed between France and Australia,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said in a

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to the AUKUS announcement.

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Safe to say that France is not gonna enjoy this lost deal. But judging by their reactions after the Alstom scandal, and the Mistral ships scandal. I don't think anything is gonna really happen between France and the Anglo-Saxons.

What the world would be learning is that France can be stepped on by the Anglo-Saxons at anytime. Can even stepped on by the British after Brexit? Wonder what that is gonna do to French pride.

Australia says it wants to build those subs domestically. China would probably already have spaceships by the time Australia builds and commissions all 8 subs. Lol.

Australia probably will get some near retired LAs. There's no way they're going to build even ONE of these domestically:

1. they have no refineries
2. they have no re.actors
3. they have no university programs
4. they have no competitive shipyards
5. they have no electronics industry

the only possibility of them building anything is from a knockdown kit sent to them for assembly... and they still don't even have the assembly halls for it.

FairAndUnbiased said:

Australia probably will get some near retired LAs. There's no way they're going to build even ONE of these domestically:

1. they have no refineries
2. they have no re.actors
3. they have no university programs
4. they have no competitive shipyards
5. they have no electronics industry

the only possibility of them building anything is from a knockdown kit sent to them for assembly... and they still don't even have the assembly halls for it.

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that is a bit of a stretch eh....
1. We had Lucas Heights, so its not beyond them to build another 1, its not as if they can't get Bechtel or someone to plonck 1 down provided it passes the politics test. (Which it won't)
2. That is the whole point of sourcing the reactor from the UK/ US?
3. That isn't very compiling with your nickname lol...
4. Its called a pork barrel project.. the whole point is to provide employment.
5. All the subsystems will be US/UK so BAE and the likes can make a killing again.

I think you seriously under estimate Aussie's industrial capacity. We fail at the cost comparisons, but it will get done, delays and budget overruns is a given, and a long defects rectification period, but it will get done.

I don't think it's the fact that they're building 8 SSNs that is surprising. 8 SSNs vs 12 barracudas, the gap is actually smaller than it seems

What's surprising is that they are tossing away all shame and fully becoming a protectorate of the US. They have given up all pretense of sovereignty and ceded themselves to the US.

This means that any assumptions that Chinese planners had made in the past will have to be changed. Instead of betting on whether Australia will remain neutral in a conflict with the US over Taiwan for example, it is now basically confirmed they will go to war alongside the US.

Australia must now be seen as an extension of the US, not an independent decision maker. The US just gained an additional 30 million people and a continent's worth of resources.

nlalyst said:

The original 90bn contract for the French subs included tech transfers and setup of all needed infrastructure and industrial base.

Depending on the urgency, they might go with a derivative of the UK’s Astute class rather than a bespoke design.

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I think they're going for a bespoke design, and apparently want to build the reactors in country too.

If Canberra goes that route, the RAN SSN will be the boat that ate not just the RAN, but the entire ADF.