Back-stabbing, once again.
Betrayal treason and duplicity... project cancelled with no warning, and Brits should be proud of that, considering it to be a success of secret diplomacy ? just like Mers-el-Kébir and running away from the front line to rembark at Dunkirk in 1940 - no warnings, and they are proud of that ? Not a way to treat friends, simply.
First, an agreement had been signed between both governments, after years of discussions. Simply saying like Oz PM that "it's not a change of mind, it's a change of needs" is a little bit too easy : I had signed for a house, but now I need an apartment. I had signed for a Chrysler, but now I think a Ford would be better suited to my needs.
By the way, in the agreement was written that :
- going away from it had to be submitted in written manner. Still nothing received in Paris, it seems.
- should breaching the agreement happen after 24 months (which is the case) 12 months of dicussion are needed....
In other words, you just don't walk away from such a contract. Lawyers will have their day, and price will be high for Australian taxpayers, that's the best we can hope. And don't forget dozens of Australian families which had already moved to the French shipyards, simply dropped by their government (like they dropped Oz citizens worldwide during COVID, by the way)
Years ago, they didn't want nuclear subs - now they have been convinced by the US, that it's what they need.....
Why French subs ? because US and UK are no longer building diesel subs. And those ones have been chosen by India, Malaysia, Chile, Brasil....
Germans shipyards are only good those days in small subs - for Baltic or Mediterranea - and Japanese are not as good as the French in making silent and war-going subs (no nukes in Japan) French subs do benefit from technology of nuclear SLBM subs, even if Paris will not export it ("nuclear dissuasion")
After chaos in Kabul and running away from Bagram without informing the Afghan Army (how surprising they didn't fight after that !) and dropping NATO allies in the same country, notably Germany and...UK ! the world is getting used to the value of the US signature. And especially in two capital cities : Kiev and Taîpei.... Beijing and Moscow just know they have to wait a couple of years now.
Anyway, UK, Autralia and US are just the same country, everybody should know that. And please don't tell us "we came to liberate you in 1944" No, we were on the way, that's all. If it had been more interesting to land in Netherlands than in Normandy, that's what would have been happening, and France would have been bypassed like Greece or Norway have been. We suffered more casulaties from US and RAF bombings than from German occupation, and more ships have been sunk by the sames, than by German action. And remember Syria-Lebanon in 1941 - invaded for no real reason, with quite a few RAAF aircraft shot down by French Armée de l'air, for those who forgot - same for Australian troops strafed on the roads.
Anyway, fascinating to see how many Navy experts we have here, in this aviation forum.
I personnally spent some time in Marine Nationale subs. Anybody here ?