Leaving aside the issue of propulsion system for the #ADF #submarine acquisition and what type of platform is really needed, there is only one major issue left. And that is can they be built on time and within budget. Arguably and regretfully, the answer appears to be a unanimous (from two ot the @AUKUS partners concerned) NO.

"... a report on AUKUS published by the House of Commons defence committee last week is deeply alarming. The defence committee is government-chaired, so it has an incentive to play down potential sources of embarrassment for the Starmer government — which prepped King Charles to spruik AUKUS on his trip to the US — but it lays out a series of major problems for the UK contribution to AUKUS, especially around recruiting a sufficient workforce to build the new submarine." (Source; Crickey News)

"...the latest report from the US Congress’s independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on US naval construction is, if anything, even more alarming on the more immediate challenge of the lack of US submarines." (Source: Crickey News)

It begs the questions: 1) Is there a secret #AUKUSPlanB, and 2) If not, what does #Marles know that keeps him so confident about the outcomes for AUKUS projects?