If American components and industrial support became doubtful, Australia might shift toward a more purely British version of the next-generation AUKUS submarine and build greater domestic support capacity. Money already committed to expand American facilities would then have to be judged against the continued availability and credibility of US equipment. Canada faces a related endurance problem: conventional submarines operating beneath Arctic ice would be separated from suitable bases by immense distances. That geography could pull Canada into a British-Australian nuclear-submarine partnership despite the financial and political difficulty.
Chapter · 38:41-42:20
AUKUS submarines without the United States
A British-Australian nuclear-submarine design could replace the American leg of AUKUS, with Canada potentially joining for Arctic endurance.