@zipperlip; I'm a long time admirer and share trader in Australia's brilliant ship-building / ocean going aluminium hulled fast ferries building company, Austal [ASX: ASB]. It's a classic case of invest in the skills of your people enables you to market yourself to the world.
Your reference to the sinking of the Bismark resonates with me, so too the earlier scuttling by the Germans of the Graf Spee to hide their technological advances. It took a pretty major effort to sink the Bismark but had the UK not done so the outcome of WW2 may well have been different.
I note that Morrison's government is directing some government work to Austal in WA whereas the USA has contracted it to build littoral combat ships in Alabama [aluminum hulled trimarans that carry payloads of hundreds of personnel and equipment able to negotiate shallow waters at speeds up 100kmh] - ships that would suit Australia;s defence needs much more than slow class submarines for which we have far too few crews.
Re technology platforms, time and time again our governments have allowed these to be taken over by the US and the UK. Australia is home to one of the world's best SP programmers, guess where he works ... it's NOT in Australia!
