The Nuclear Submarine Britain Is Building For Australia
AUKUS, explained through its biggest prize: SSN-AUKUS, the new nuclear attack submarine Britain will build for its own Royal Navy and for Australia, with the first British boat due to start construction in 2027. This is the story of the largest and riskiest submarine bet Britain has made in sixty years, and the single word driving it: China.
We follow the deal from the 2021 announcement that tore up Australia’s French submarine contract, through the plan to build the same boat on opposite sides of the world, to the empty berths at home that make the whole gamble so uncomfortable. Less a submarine tech explainer than the story of a geopolitical mega-deal: Britain arming the other side of the planet, and racing a clock nobody at the ceremonies will name out loud.
I thought they were going to be built in the US so this was a bit of a surprise to me.