Originally Posted by
Not_a_boffin
Our industrial base struggles to deliver our own boats - let alone anyone else's. While welcome in strategic terms, this is going to pose a real risk to UK capabilities - primarily in manpower terms.
Any UK expertise might well be in helping the Aussies set up the build, support and safety infrastructure needed. It's non-trivial.
Agreed but just to be clear, I'm certainly not suggesting any Astute-based solution would involve build at Barrow. If what you're saying is that we don't have the wherewithal to support Australia in setting up and running an Astute build facility in Australia then you may be right I guess - we'll just have to see what pans out. Overall I'd agree that the UK is most likely in line for crumbs from the table - but for the reasons I mentioned an Astute scenario exists, even if only just...