Captain Reifstek, USN (Courtesy LinkedIn)
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It is so nice to see Capt. Lincoln Reifsteck [USN above] Manager, AUKUS Integration and Acquisition Program, said:
1. “Australia has very sophisticated manufacturing
capabilities for certain kinds of parts and could take on work for the
collective AUKUS nuclear sub supply system.”
Pete Comment: That the US and UK would outsource parts of their
submarine supply chain national security to efficient Australia is a welcome surprise.
2. “the U.K. will begin building its first [SSN-AUKUS]
later this decade [ie. in the 2020s]”
and
3. “Australia will follow “very shortly thereafter””
Pete Comment: So the UK’s very limited (usually late) submarine design/build workforce leapfrogging the 15 year Dreadnought SSBN program (lead Dreadnought to be commissioned in the
early 2030s) in order to start building SSN-AUKUS in
the 2020s is also a surprise. My spies advise both submarine types would need to be built in the same Barrow-in-Furness shed.