It’s a long way from San Diego to Barrow-in-Furness, but an announcement today in the Californian city’s naval base should prompt a party in the Cumbrian coastal town about 5,000 miles away because it brings with it the near-certainty of decades of work for its main employer and 10,500 employees.
Rishi Sunak will be in California to meet President Biden and Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, to unveil an ambitious tri-nation plan to build submarines. The scheme, part of the broader “Aukus” military alliance, will equip Australia’s navy with nuclear-powered submarines, making it only the seventh country in the world to possess the capability. The three nations want to confront growing Chinese military power in the Pacific.
While details of the deal will be set
