nuclear submarines

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull told a public inquiry that the Aukus deal involving the US and UK may result in no submarines for Australia. He stated that the US capacity for building submarines has remained laggard, noting that its own legislation restricts sales if it would 'degrade' its fleet, requiring the production rate to nearly double from 1.2 to 2.3 per year.

China conducted a test flight of a giant coil array system called Airborne Transient Electromagnetic (Atem) detection. The system uses a helicopter to tow a kite-like array of coils that emit electromagnetic pulses to detect conductive materials, potentially including nuclear submarines.

Australia is acquiring three used American nuclear submarines under the AUKUS defense agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom. The decision replaces an earlier plan for two used submarines and one new one, with AUKUS dominating headlines since its 2021 announcement.

Chinese firms and state-owned enterprises, including China First Heavy Industries, absorbed Indonesian assets of bankrupt stainless-steel producer Jiangsu Delong in 2024, highlighting China's strategy to secure upstream mineral resources like nickel for military-grade metals and nuclear submarine production.

A UK parliamentary inquiry warns that funding shortfalls and operational challenges in the UK's submarine program threaten the Aukus nuclear submarine plan, risking Australia's security. The report highlights decades of underfunding in UK shipbuilding and critically low submarine availability.