The Land Down Under the sea: AUKUS is about submarines, not bombers

Summary

This opinion piece by Andrew I. Park and Steven Wills, writing for The Hill, makes the following points:

• Acquisition of a B-21 is not a priority of the AUKUS partnership.
• An evolving maritime strategic environment means Australia's priority should be acquiring a nuclear submarine.
• The Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles has stated that at ‘the heart of deterrence is undersea capability’.

References

Recent Runway Posts related to this topic:

• US and UK begin jostling to supply Australia with nuclear submarine fleet | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
• AUKUS will deliver the potent military Australia needs: Marles | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)

References from the Web:

• NOV 2022 Indonesian ambassador warns Australia AUKUS pact must not fuel a hypersonic arms race—The Guardian
• NOV 2022 Australia and B‑21 bombers: less bang for the buck—The Interpreter

Source Information:

• Article Source: https://thehill.com/
• Media Check: The Hill - Media Bias Fact Check (mediabiasfactcheck.com)
• RAAF RUNWAY: RATIONALE, GUIDELINES, LEARNING OUTCOMES, ETC | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)