Australians who have been critical of AUKUS have tended to focus on Australian problems with it – it’s too dear, we have neither a nuclear industry nor a nuclear workforce, etc.
But very recent events and reported remarks by US Defence official Elbridge Colby show how much of a problem it — or at least the nuclear submarine aspect of it — is for the US.
AUKUS – an American problem
The plan for that part of AUKUS envisages the US selling or leasing three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia in the 2030s. But