Hi Guys,
Merry Christmas.
Some welcome nuke sub news for you.
www.theaustralian.com.au
Those who dont have access or dont have a subscription. Took away the key points. The rest is all fill. Wild guess, but seems from his wording it could be the Virgina's. Nothing is yet confirmed.
Key takeaway (Nuke sub capability from early 2030s). May still be built in Australia with Close UK/US involvement.
Mr Dutton did not say how the shortened timeline would be achieved, saying that the options were being worked through in high-level meetings with US and UK officials. He also gave no indication of whether Australia would ultimately choose the US Virginia Class submarines or the British Astute Class submarines.
“I think it’s the Americans’ desire to see us with capability much sooner than 2040 and obviously options are being explored at the moment,” Mr Dutton said.
“I believe very much we can realise the capability in the first half of the 2030s and we are absolutely working towards that and I am only encouraged, not discouraged, out of the conversations we have had.”
He said that his “wildest expectations” had been exceeded by the level of co-operation from both the UK and the US since the creation of the AUKUS pact in September.
The government is expected to announce in the first half of 2022 the details of how it plans to acquire its nuclear-powered submarine fleet.
"I think when you speak with the Brits and the Americans, they’ve got limited capacity within their own production lines so I think there is an inevitability around the build in Australia,” he said. “In fact we’ve got people that we are working with from both the US and the UK now on shipyard design … that’s been a priority for us.”