The US president's decision to cut back submarine production is not a death knell for Australia's plans to buy American nuclear-powered vessels, one congressman says.
The US is set to sell Australia at least three, and up to five, Virginia-class nuclear submarines under the trilateral AUKUS partnership that also includes Britain.
But the president's budget proposal for 2025 cuts one of the submarines from the production line, raising doubts over whether second-hand vessels could be sold to Australia in the early 2030s without reducing the firepower of the US fleet.
