
Australia and France’s Naval Group finalized and signed a $35 billion submarine partnership agreement on Monday to deliver 12 new vessels to Australia. In 2016, Australia’s Department of Defense chose Naval Group as its preferred bidder to build 12 new attack-class submarines to replace the current six Collins-class submarine fleet. Doubling the submarine fleet is part of the government’s 2016 Naval Shipbuilding Plan. Naval Group is a private company in which the French government holds a 62 percent stake. This…