“First and foremost, this was an opportunity for our trainee aircrew on 824 Naval Air Squadron to complete the final stages of operational flying training in the Merlin anti-submarine warfare helicopter.

Source: https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/23620171.royal-navy-submarine-hunters-culdrose-train-norway/?ref=rss

“It has effectively honed the military’s round-the-clock aerial anti-submarine combat capabilities,” said the statement.

Source: https://interaksyon.philstar.com/world/2023/08/31/259374/china-hones-anti-submarine-capabilities-amid-south-china-sea-tensions/

The federal government said last year Boeing's P-8A Poseidon "is the only currently available aircraft that meets" the military's needs, including anti-submarine warfare.

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/procurement-new-surveillance-military-planes-1.7042751?cmp=rss

The news came days after the three nations agreed at talks in Washington to hold regular missile defence and anti-submarine exercises in their efforts to boost diplomatic and military co-operation.

Source: https://gazette.com/news/us-world/s-korea-us-japan-hold-missile-defence-drills-to-counter-n-korea/article_e7312a61-1b03-5674-b0d8-976b29662392.html

The rear admiral said he was confident the allies’ submarine and anti-submarine technology were “generations ahead”, but noted “quantity has a quality of its own” when it came to China’s build up.

Source: https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2023/08/04/us-nuke-submarine-perth-visit/

The Type 054B will travel faster, go further, and is harder to detect, making it better at anti-submarine tasks.

Source: https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/Factbox-Bigger-heavier-faster-China-rolls-out-military-upgrades--44891200/?utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=20230921

They could have also sent up a Navy P-C3 Orion, a prop-airplane made by Lockheed normally used for anti-submarine warfare.

Source: https://www.nationalmemo.com/china-balloon-2659411133

They will either be axed by successive governments, cancelled by future financial crises, or made redundant by some unforeseen anti-submarine countermeasure such as underwater drone swarms etc.

Source: https://japantoday.com/category/world/australia-pm-defends-aukus-submarine-deal-against-critics