Australia’s Aukus nuclear submarines could cost as much as $122B

Australia’s eight planned nuclear submarines will cost Au$70 billion at an “absolute minimum” and it’s “highly likely” to be more than that, defense analysts say, Report informs referring to The Guardian.

With inflation, the cost could be as high as Au$171 billion (US$122.2 billion), according to a new report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

The thinktank’s report contained a series of estimates ranging from low to high and conceded that estimating the final cost of the project is necessarily an “extremely assumption-rich activity”.

Under the low range, for a smaller submarine with a more efficient build, the “constant” cost (not including inflation) would be about $70 billion. Including inflation (the “out-turned” cost), it would be $116 billion.

Under the high-range scenario, the constant cost would be $79bn and with inflation it could cost up to $171 billion if the schedule stretches out, further compounding the effect of inflation.

The Aspi report co-author Dr Marcus Hellyer said that Australia will partner with either the US or the UK to buy their boat designs, and a nuclear-powered submarine taskforce is working through the details.

“We haven’t determined the specific vessel that we will be building, but that will be done through the rather significant and comprehensive program assessment that will be done with our partners over the next 12 to 18 months,” Morrison said in September.