Originally Posted by
ORAC
The problem being France only produces a LEU reactor, not HEU, bringing us back to the need to refuel every 5 years and being dependent on France for refuelling - which is not an acceptable risk.
If you want a sub with a reactor fuelled for its service life you need HEU, which leads you back to US/UK reactor design and supply - even if the rest of the sub is built in Australia.
Its worse than that, if that just the problem that could be lived with. The issue lays with the NPT. France giving AUS reactor technology would straight up be a breech of the NPT and open australia and france to international sanctions. Thats the reason why brazil is having to design and construct its own reactors and not just use french reactors in a french submarine. So while I think a nuclear barracuda was the butter zone size sub for us, it was never going to happen
My take has always been virginia to expensive, needs to many crew and is just to much sub for us, astute no VLS. I think a 3rd option of either the new SSN(X) or some form of bespoke "regional sub" for countries like australia and possibly SK, Japan or india in the asian pacific or italy, germany or other europeans