In case you’ve just arrived from Mars, the Australian government has announced it will acquire, with the assistance of the United States and United Kingdom, a fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) that will be …
The first of anything is expensive. Theodore Wright studied this in the 1930s and found a mathematical relationship between how many of a thing have been made and how much cheaper and faster production becomes. …
Now that the initial euphoria over the announcement of the AUKUS agreement and Australia’s decision to acquire nuclear submarines has passed, it’s time to unpack some of the deeper meaning. The mandated 18 months of …
In a world largely inured to shocks, the announcement that Australia, in partnership with the United States and the United Kingdom, would acquire nuclear-powered submarines was a bombshell. We haven’t over-egged this development—it was dramatic. …
When journalists used to ask me whether I thought we should continue with the Attack-class submarine program, I’d answer with the old joke about the American tourist lost in the back blocks of Ireland. After …
The world’s gotten more dangerous—and quickly. And while nuclear submarines from the new AUKUS partnership will give Australia a powerful long-term deterrent, this won’t be a fast program that delivers inside 15 years. It’s becoming …
Last Thursday’s announcement of Australia’s plans to pursue nuclear-powered submarines and the launch of AUKUS—a new security grouping between Australia, the UK and US aimed at promoting information and technology sharing as well as greater …
Last week’s surprise AUKUS announcement by the United States, Britain and Australia has created a frenzy of focus on nuclear-powered submarines, but the bigger picture is getting lost in a sea of naval analysis. The …
Australia’s bold decision to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines is a revolutionary strategic policy shift prompted entirely by China’s unrelenting military aggression and political coercion throughout the Indo-Pacific region. The question is no longer …
ASPI celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. This series looks at ASPI’s work since its creation in August 2001. Australian naval shipbuilding has a long history. Calling it a chequered history only just captures the …
Arguably the biggest submarine program in the Western world outside of the United States, Australia’s submarine development continues to raise concerns about cost. ASPI’s Michael Shoebridge and Marcus Hellyer examine the outcomes of the recent …
In Adelaide’s The Advertiser newspaper on 7 March, former defence minister Christopher Pyne said, ‘Then there is the nonsensical argument that the Attack Class submarines are no good because they aren’t nuclear. Almost all of …