Australia Nuclear Sub Fleet Highly Unlikely to Be Ready by 2030
- New Defence Minister says Australia could face capability gap
- Malaysia still concerned over Australia’s deal with US and UK
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Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said it was “optimistic in the extreme” that any of the country’s new fleet of nuclear submarines would be ready by 2030, warning it could leave Australia with a capability gap of more than a decade.
Australia signed a deal with the US and the UK in September 2021, known as the Aukus agreement, which among a range of security and technology measures would also help Australia build and operate its own fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. However no final delivery date was announced.