Asia Defense

Australia’s Government Under Attack Over Submarine Deal

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Asia Defense

Australia’s Government Under Attack Over Submarine Deal

In a new report, experts urge Australian government to drop plans to procure French-made nuclear attack submarines.

Australia’s Government Under Attack Over Submarine Deal
Credit: DCNS

The debate over the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) future submarine fleet is raging on with a new report urging the Australian government to reconsider its decision to procure redesigned diesel-electrics submarines and opt for modified off-the shelf boats instead, or risk a major capability gap in the near future.

Australia’s submarine project, which aims to replace the RANs fleet of six aging Collins-class submarines designed by Swedish manufacturer Kockums in the 1990s, is “extravagantly expensive, highly risky and in an era of heightened tensions in the Asia Pacific compromises the future defense of Australia,” a recently released Insight Economics report, commissioned by Gary Johnston, a Sydney businessman, states.

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