Originally Posted by
helispotter
Thanks. To add to that, add the cost of building up the industrial base in USA, UK and Australia. Also add the necessary establishment and sustainment of nuclear safety and regulatory management in Australia beyond what existed so far.
Capability vs cost should always be a consideration in Defence capability acquisitions, even when comparing apples vs oranges capabilities. If such an assessment exists for AUKUS since dumping Attack, it will unfortunately be classified and so a reason it can't be made available to the Australian public to understand the reasoning for the change of plan.
One more consideration is Survivability, especially against an emerging Super Power.
This is also a consideration for crew and family of crew.