Photo by Martin Baron on Unsplash yes not the sub in question but hey it’s a sub.

AUKUS Nuke subs for Australia, need and strategic framework

and some big questions to ask

Been down this rabbit hole before

There is an awful lot I could write on this topic but I will try to be as succinct as possible.

I served in the Royal Australian Navy as did my father before me. When he left he worked as a Defense contractor- first on the highly successful Blackhawk helicopter acquistion, then also the Dutch failed billed for the Anzac Class Frigate(Australia chose the MEKO 200 from Germany instead) and lastly the Kockums 471 Submarine acquisition which became the Collins class submarine.

I served after this time so I saw first hand how Defense contracts in procurement and logisitcs play out. If the procurement department had a motto it would be this:

“To deliver over budget, very late, mechanically unsound and below expectations.”

And that is being kind.

So when I saw Australia sign up for a(Aussie dollar) $200–368 billion dollar deal(what is $100 billion variation between friends) I said wait a minute.

The Collins deal

Before a deeper dive, pun intended, to the AUKUS and its ramifications, it is useful to colour with some perspective.