Three days before the defense ministers of AUKUS are gathering in California, the Australian minister for defense industry, Pat Conroy, offered a full-throated defense of his government’s approach on the massive plan for Australia to buy at least three Virginia-class submarines and create a whole new class of subs to be known as SSN AUKUS.
The minister, speaking to reporters on 29 Nov 2023, also confirmed a number of details about the AUKUS plan and how Canberra will approach industrial participation for the tri-lateral agreement, which ties the US, UK and Australia together on military issues, most prominently with nuclear-powered submarines.
