One Lockheed executive argued the company has scores of workers available for the job after a different sub program was scrapped in favor of the American boats.
BAE Systems, Raytheon Australia, General Dynamics Mission Systems and Thales said they would work collaboratively to design a tri-national command system as a "shared solution for Australia and the UK which builds on General Dynamics' existing AN/BYG-1 system" used by the US.
The U.S. Army’s MAPS Gen II program of record for assured PNT provides an authoritative and reliable source of truth for combat vehicles in a highly contested battlespace.
The prospect of South Korea building its submarines in the United States would raise a litany of questions for the American maritime industrial base.
Navy Secretary John Phelan said the ongoing review is designed to make the original deal “better," to clear up some of the “ambiguity” and be a “win-win for everybody.”
DoD's John Noh appeared before lawmakers, as they voiced concerns over America's Indo-Pacific stance.
More broadly Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles pledged to continue to increase defence spending to record levels to deliver the capabilities Australia needs.
As aircraft shrink, threats expand, and technology accelerates, aircraft engines must iterate along with the threats.
The “cancellation of this dialogue is disappointing and counterproductive for alliance interests,” Rory Medcalf, head of the Australian National University’s National Security College, said. “It is in the interests of both countries that such dialogues resume as soon as possible.”
“There's a schedule of payments to be made. We have an agreement with the United States as well as with the United Kingdom, it is about increasing their capacity, their industrial capacity,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"As the geopolitical landscape rapidly shifts, half the population (51%) say Australia should increase defence spending, while a minority (37%) say spending should remain at about the same level as now. Majority support for acquiring nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS has held firm (67%)," a Lowy Institute poll on national security issue found last month.
“While there is some risk and mixed signals from the Trump [administration], especially on the issue of US willingness to transfer Virginia-class subs to Australia, there is a potential upside if this review drives a more coherent US approach and cost/benefit approach towards AUKUS," analyst Euan Graham told Breaking Defense.
Explore how networked warfare, AI, and 3D-printed drones are reshaping US Indo-Pacific strategy.
The investment comes as among the first in a bid to reach an ambition of manufacturing one SSN every 18 months, which are set to be delivered from the end of the 2030s.
“Those efforts have been about workforce, hiring and retention. They have been about supply chain resiliency, modernization of the yards, strategic outsourcing [and] infrastructure issues,” Brett Seidle, the Navy's acting acquisition executive, told lawmakers on Wednesday.
In this exclusive commentary, London's ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, explains some of the decisions recently announced in the Strategic Defence Review.
"The spend, still seven years or so from the first Australian-flagged nuclear submarine, already has the submarine arm of the ADF on its way to becoming a fourth service: this newcomer is outpacing the Army, Air Force and surface Navy in its spending, complexity and risk," the report's summary notes.