The Wire

The Australian government announced its intention of acquiring nuclear-powered submarines through its new trilateral defense partnership with the US and the UK called AUKUS. While these submarines are not a nuclear weapon per se, they are fuelled by highly enriched uranium (HEU) that can be used in nuclear weapons. This raises the question of what the intentions of Australia are in getting nuclear submarines and whether the country’s defense strategy is deemed more important than its response the the current health crisis.