In September 2021, Australia broke the contract for 12 submarines signed with France in 2016. However, in recent days, the Labor government confirmed that the ultimately preferred US and UK shipyards were unable to supply it with the nuclear devices.
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The “blow in the back” denounced by France, a year ago, looks more and more like a blow of bamboo for Australia. On the night of September 15 to 16, 2021, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia announced their union as part of a defense pact called Aukus. A huge disappointment for France since the creation of this alliance also resulted in the breach of a contract with Australia estimated at 56 billion euros and relating to the delivery of twelve conventional submarines. Except that Australia, which preferred to equip itself with nuclear-powered submarines, risks having to wait a very long time before seeing the color of it and even finding itself, at the turn of the 2040s, completely devoid of submarines, since its current fleet will be scrapped at that time.
>> Submarine contract broken by Australia: we explain why France believes it has received a “blow in the back”
The Labor government has indeed confirmed that the shipyards of its American and British allies were unable to supply it with nuclear submarines.
Also to avoid being completely naked, Australia could acquire classic submarines. And according to the Australian press, France is in the running. During his meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in July, Emmanuel Macron would have offered to provide four machines. Information that Anne Genetet, Renaissance deputy and secretary of the Defense Commission at the Assembly, does not deny: “It is normal for France to try to seize an opportunity, because we have skills, know-how and high-quality equipment. It’s not for nothing that we signed this contract with Australia in 2019″, she told franceinfo. The visit to the Brest naval base in early September 2022 by the Minister for the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, with his Australian counterpart at Defense, also gives weight to this hypothesis.
But on the Australian side, the navy would be reluctant to this idea, because it simply would not have the human resources necessary to support a new type of submersible. The case will still continue: it is only in March 2023 that the Australian Minister of Defense must unveil his complete strategy concerning submarines.