Posted on 12/20/2023 10:52:27 PM PST by fluorescence
The US Congress has passed legislation allowing the country to sell Virginia class submarines to Australia under the Aukus security pact.
Sweeping legislation covering a wide range of military priorities including Aukus passed the US House of Representatives on Thursday Washington time, a day after it cleared the Senate.
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, said Australians could “have a sense of confidence about this multi-decade arrangement actually coming to pass” because of the strong bipartisan votes in the US Congress.
“We are on the precipice of historic reform that will transform our ability to effectively deter, innovate, and operate together,” he said.
The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes provisions to allow the US to sell Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia – expected to occur in the 2030s.
The acquisition of at least three such submarines from the US is an interim step before Australian-built nuclear-powered submarines start to enter into service in the 2040s.
However, the transfer would still require certification from the president of the day. Under the plans, two of the submarines to be transferred to Australia would be secondhand while one would be new and come off the production line.
The NDAA – which must next go to the president, Joe Biden, to sign into law – also allows the maintenance of US submarines by Australians in Australia. It creates the ability for Australian contractors to train in US shipyards.
The legislation contains other measures to free up the sharing of advanced defence technology among the US, Australia and the UK. This includes exempting Australia and the UK from US defence export control licensing.
Both countries will also be added to Title III of the US Defense Production Act, giving their firms access to incentives to produce and supply critical materials and goods.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
I don’t know about exempting the UK from export controls. At the rate they’re going, sharing sensitive military technology with them would be no different than just handing it over to ISIS.
There is a country that the deep state has gained total control of in recent years.
Australia is importing so many people from India and China that by the time the submarines are ready they might as well just be handed over directly to Beijing and New Delhi.
The Virginia class subs have what is called a Photonic Mast. Apparently powerful lasers are being incorporated into it. With a 30 Megawatt reactor providing power it could be quite a weapon.
IMHO, a very bad deal for the country, but a huge windfall for defense contractors...
But hell, Biden handed our most dangerous enemies 60-billion dollars that has allowed them to provide weapons’ to all of our moslem enemies...
The hooties and hezbowlahs can expend millions of dollars-a-month shooting rockets at everyone else and financing terrorist activities inside all nan-believer countries...
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