AUKUS chiefs torpedo submarine sales fears

A top Pentagon commander has repudiated warnings America will fail to deliver nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact, but acknowledged ramping up production would be challenging despite billions of Australian taxpayer dollars flowing to the US industrial base.

The director of the US Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, Admiral William Houston, also revealed that Australians would eventually make up 10 per cent of the crews on US-flagged Virginia-class submarines.