Australia is to build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines in-country for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the first initiative of the enhanced AUKUS trilateral security partnership jointly announced by leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States on 15 September. The announcement confirmed that Canberra is scrapping its contracts with French shipbuilder Naval Group for the design and construction of 12 conventionally powered Attack-class submarines to replace the RAN's six-strong Collins-class submarine fleet at an estimated acquisition cost of AUD90 billion (USD68 billion).
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