This paper advocates early consideration of all aspects of a transition to nuclear propulsion for Australia's submarines, based on compelling strategic and submarine capability arguments. While a nuclear-powered submarine force would provide strategic advantages, some quite formidable challenges would need to be overcome to add such a force to the Royal Australian Navy.

The transition from the Collins-class submarines to the future submarine fleet will be more complex than any previous capability transition that Defence has undergone. The submarine enterprise will be in constant transition, rather than completing a short, bounded transition process.

This publication illustrates how politics, technology, budgeting and the fallibility of human decision-making all intersect to make the defence capability development and acquisition business one of the most demanding of all public sector tasks.

National planning is vitally important for Australia's naval shipbuilding industry to sustain and consolidate its sovereign capability. The release of the naval shipbuilding plan attempted to formalise a long-term plan for the industry. However, further work is required to provide a more comprehensive and holistic long-term plan for the Australian naval shipbuilding industry.

China may already be building a ‘post-American navy’, one designed not to confront US naval predominance in the Pacific, but to inherit it as the US baulks at the increasing cost of continued regional leadership.