As it looks to replace Canada’s aging fleet of Victoria-class submarines, Ottawa must answer doctrinal questions before committing to a supplier. If not, the blanks will be ultimately filled in by operational constraints that delineate RCN capacity for decades to come.

In an era of intensifying geopolitical competition, rising crises, and heightened maritime tension, the A26 and similar submarines illustrate that undersea warfare is no longer the exclusive domain of nuclear powers.

The AUKUS pact is notable in its shift from style to substance in US-led efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific.