Aukus subs depend on a US certification the fleet may not meet

Before Australia gets any Virginia-class sub under Aukus, the US president must legally certify the sale won't weaken America's own undersea fleet. That's a hard statutory gate, not a rubber stamp. The US Navy has 49 boats against a target of 66. Pentagon official Elbridge Colby calls the pact "full steam ahead." The shipyard figures say otherwise.