US hails progress in getting Australia nuclear-powered submarines ‘at the earliest possible date’

Defence minister Richard Marles says Aukus partners will all benefit from ‘three-way ecosystem’ as he meets with US counterpart Lloyd Austin

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Australia and the US have made “significant progress” towards getting Australia a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines “at the earliest possible date”, the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said on Saturday.

The federal government is set to announce its Aukus submarine plans by the end of March, amid mounting concerns that the US could struggle to provide them, and a push for President Joe Biden to fast-track research into submarines that use non-weapons grade uranium.

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