Indirect Effects For Collins Replacement

This isn't small news for the Australian Naval community, but most point of views I have seen so far are focused on the financial and industrial aspects of either Tenix or BAE, making a bit too much of it IMO. I thought something completely different when I heard about this. The Collins class submarine replacement folks will be happy.

BAE Systems Australia has bought Australia’s second-largest defense manufacturer, Sydney-based Tenix Defence Pty Ltd, for 775 million Australian dollars.

The news here isn't that Tenix sold to BAE, I think everyone agrees this is a good thing for Australia, at least I think they should. The good news is that a BAE bought Tenix, and neither General Dynamics or Northrop Grumman did. Why does that matter? Because it opens the door for one of them to buy ASC, which is what I believe most in the Collins replacement program are secretly hoping for. The article even hints at this.

However, it’s unclear whether or not Australia’s new defense giant will be allowed also to buy the government-owned submarine and warship builder ASC Pty Ltd, Port Adelaide, when this is put up for sale later this year.

McDowell told Defense News that the Australian government hasn’t said when ASC will be sold, nor how, nor how much of it.

“The process isn’t clear,” he said, declining to comment on the issue.

Is it really not that clear? It looks pretty clear to me that ASC is going to be for sale, and to keep BAE from turning the Australian defense industry into a monopoly, ASC will sell to a certain US company. I know which one everyone is thinking, but I tend to think its the other one.