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Peter Briggs

Peter Briggs

Pearls and Irritations

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AUKUS infrastructure, part 3: The Osborne construction enterprise

AUKUS infrastructure, part 3: The Osborne construction enterprise

In the third of a six-part series on AUKUS infrastructure, Osborne’s submarine yard is making visible progress, but unfunded stages, nuclear...

latest 10

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs

AUKUS Infrastructure, part 2: The Henderson bottleneck

AUKUS Infrastructure, part 2: The Henderson bottleneck

In the second of a six-part series on AUKUS infrastructure, the focus shifts to Henderson, where fragmented land tenure, commercial disruption and...

yesterday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs

AUKUS infrastructure, part 1: The docking gap that could sink Pillar 1

AUKUS infrastructure, part 1: The docking gap that could sink Pillar 1

The first in a six-part series examines the maintenance reality behind AUKUS Pillar 1, and the looming risk that Australia may receive Virginia-class...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs

The US shipyard crisis sinking AUKUS

The US shipyard crisis sinking AUKUS

With more than a third of the US fast-attack submarine fleet sidelined by maintenance delays, the assumptions behind AUKUS Pillar 1 are looking less...

23.07.2026 20

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs

AUKUS leaves Australia with the long nuclear goodbye – part two

AUKUS leaves Australia with the long nuclear goodbye – part two

In the second of a two-part series, Peter Briggs examines the decommissioning, dismantling and waste-disposal risks Australia will inherit from AUKUS...

20.07.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs

Before the AUKUS submarines arrive, Australia inherits the risks – part one

In the first of a two-part series, Peter Briggs examines the technical and security risks of relying on highly enriched uranium and an unproven...

19.07.2026 20

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs

Australia should take another look at France’s nuclear submarines

The choice between high- and low-enriched uranium submarines will shape Australia’s nuclear security, waste and non-proliferation obligations for...

07.07.2026 20

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs

The AUKUS mirage: why Australia needs a pragmatic pivot to Plan B

Australia still needs nuclear-powered submarines for long-range sea denial, but the current AUKUS pathway is too slow and risky, making a locally...

23.06.2026 30

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs

Second-hand submarines: a sovereign flaw

The decision to acquire three secondhand Virginia-class submarines resolves a major fleet standardisation issue, but it also deepens Australia’s...

02.06.2026 40

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs

AUKUS meets reality – UK ‘all in’ a mess (Part 2)

16.12.2025 20

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs

AUKUS meets reality – what's not in the AUSMIN Media Release (Part 1)

15.12.2025 20

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs

SSN AUKUS – Heading for a quagmire (Part II)

05.09.2025 30

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs

The shrinking US Navy submarine force – Implications for AUKUS Pillar 1 (Part 1)

05.09.2025 40

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Briggs