What Happened
Senior Pentagon Official Calls Review 'Best Thing' For Agreement
A senior Pentagon official has praised the 2025 review of the AUKUS agreement, calling it the ‘best thing’ that has happened to the trilateral pact. The review allowed for more open discussions about the challenges facing the agreement, including production timelines and budget realities. According to Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, the review prompted ‘very productive conversations’ with Australia about the employment of submarines. The AUKUS agreement, which involves the sale of Virginia-class submarines to Australia, is on schedule, with some aspects even progressing faster than expected, as reported by Breaking Defense.