The formation of the AUKUS alliance between Australia, Great Britain and the United States a little over a year ago seriously damaged relations between Paris and these three countries, especially since it involved the unilateral cancellation of the SEA 1000 design and build contract for 13 U-Assault class. boats sold by France in 2015 to replace them with 8 American or British nuclear submarines. Despite the difficulties encountered by Canberra in organizing the transition to such a fleet, and the additional costs and delays that such a decision entails, it took many months and the change of two of the three heads of state (the Briton Boris Johnson and Australian Scott Morrison) to normalize relations with France. However, the transition from an underwater propulsion program to a nuclear propulsion program for the Royal Australian Navy quickly highlighted the industrial difficulties encountered by the 3 countries to produce the 8 Australian submarines on time, as much as the country has little room for maneuver due to the obsolescence of its 6 Collins class submarines.
With a Chinese navy in the midst of an explosion in capacity which welcomes more than 30 leading naval units each year, where American shipyards can only supply a dozen, the United States is now struggling to support the rise in power of certain of their allies. particularly in the field of submarines, whereas the United Kingdom is unfortunately not in a position to offer an effective industrial solution in this field. On the other hand, it now seems safe for the United States to respond to the challenge posed by China and its navy in the Pacific, but also to curb the modernization of the fleet of Russian submarines in the Atlantic and Arctic seas which equip certain of its allies with nuclear-powered attack submarines is an effective alternative.
It is undoubtedly from this observation that Republican Senator from Idaho, James Risch, proposed to the Halifax International Security Forum to create an alliance on the model of AUKUS, a military and technological alliance which this time brings together the United States, France and Canada. Indeed, it would be an architecture entirely identical to the Aukus Alliance, with the United States, a nation that has the technology and the capability to manufacture nuclear-powered attack submarines, and a country that must eventually replace its fleet of conventional submarines. , consisting of 4 Victoria class submarines. Moreover, while Australia plays a strategic role in controlling the South Pacific, Canada is both an Atlantic and Pacific player and, due to its position, plays a crucial role in controlling Arctic waters, that we are the preferred location to deploy known Russian SSBNs. .
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