By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY, Dec 10 (Reuters) – Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia was “very self-critical” as it looked to address challenges, including skilling its workforce, for the AUKUS nuclear submarine programme, ahead ‍of AUKUS defence ministers meeting in Washington.

A Pentagon review of AUKUS had found areas to put the deal on the “strongest possible footing,” a U.S. official said last week, although the findings have not been made public.

Announced in 2021, AUKUS is Australia’s largest-ever defence project and will see U.S. commanded Virginia ‌submarines based in Australia from 2027, several Virginia submarines ‌sold to Australia from around 2030, and Britain and Australia build a new class of AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine.

Defence ministers from Australia, Brita

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