The proposed industrial arrangement combines American weapons and fire-control systems, British reactors and some modules, and Australian assembly. Australian orders could spread British reactor production costs and reduce the price of modules for Royal Navy boats. Rolls-Royce reactor capacity receives a favourable assessment as an investment that has delivered results. Alex Clarke separately estimates that Barrow might be operating at about two-thirds of its capacity, then explicitly calls that conjecture based on mental arithmetic and conversations with naval-architect friends of his father. It is not a measured utilisation figure. The hope is that lower reactor costs could help increase submarine numbers even without a substantial spending increase.
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AUKUS reactor orders and the uncertain capacity estimate
Shared reactor orders could lower British submarine costs, while the suggested spare capacity at Barrow is explicitly an informal estimate.