Would you buy a used submarine from Pete Hegseth? First, a history lesson

June 4, 2026 — 9:30am

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Defence Minister Richard Marles has defended the revised AUKUS submarine deal for Australia. The original plan was to acquire from the US one new and two second-hand Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs). The US has now changed this to three second-hand ones. Marles claims it is still a good deal for Australia, yet there are legitimate reasons for scepticism.

Australian governments have repeatedly defended the purchase of second-hand American naval vessels as cost-effective interim capabilities designed to plug a looming “capability gap”. But historical experience suggests caution is warranted.

Past acquisitions have often involved undisclosed maintenance backlogs, hull fatigue, corrosion problems and substantial unexpected refit costs.

The most cautionary example remains the 1994 purchase by the Keating government of two surplus US navy Newport-class tank-landing ships for about $61 million to $70 million. Renamed HMAS Manoora and HMAS Kanimbla, the vessels were intended to quickly replace........

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