In the next 18 months, the authorities will have to make a choice in favor of British or American technologies
SYDNEY, December 14. /tass/. The creation of its own nuclear submarine fleet, for the construction of which Canberra broke the largest defense contract in its history with Paris, could cost Australia 171 billion Australian dollars ($122.2 billion) and will require at least 20 years. Such data was published on Tuesday by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
According to the ASPI report, by joining the AUKUS trilateral partnership, Australia has committed to acquire nuclear submarine construction technology and build at least eight nuclear submarines. "The new venture will be large-scale and probably the largest and most complex that Australia has ever founded. The challenges, costs and risks will be enormous, and it will take at least two decades before Australia actually strengthens its military capabilities with nuclear submarines," the document says.
According to the data announced by the Australian federal government, in the next 18 months, the authorities will have to make a choice in favor of British or American technologies. According to ASPI analysts, the timing of the construction of submarines and the final price of their creation and maintenance will depend on this. "If we reduce all costs to an absolute minimum, the program for the construction and further maintenance of eight submarines, taking into account inflation, will cost about 116 billion Australian dollars a year [$82.9 billion - approx. TASS], but probably the real costs will be much higher and will amount to 171 billion Australian dollars per year [$122.2 billion - approx. TASS]", - stated in the report of the Institute.
Analysts also clarified that nuclear submarines will provide Australia with a strategic advantage in the region as geopolitical tensions in the Pacific increase, but it is not worth waiting for this before 2050.
Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States announced the creation of the AUKUS military partnership on September 15. The agreements they have worked out include plans for Australia to build at least eight nuclear submarines (submarines) using American technologies and to re-equip its armed forces with American cruise missiles. After the conclusion of the new pact, Canberra broke the largest contract in its history with Paris for the supply of submarines worth over 50 billion euros, saying that it no longer meets the national interests of the country. In response, France accused Australia of deliberate deception and sharply criticized the actions of the Washington administration.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in mid-October in an interview with the American TV channel CNBC that the creation of AUKUS undermines regional stability. China reacted extremely negatively to the plans to create a new alliance. At the end of September, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed the opinion that these trilateral agreements pose a hidden threat to global stability.
