[lavezza]

A lot of people here are assuming COUNTRY1 is an adversary. I'm going to guess India. It's plausible to think that India would love to be able to build nuclear submarines with equivalent technology to the Virginia-class. It isn't crazy to think they might be willing to pay money for secrets. But it's also equally plausible that they would immediately tell the US to avoid diplomatic complications if it was discovered. It's also easier to justify selling to a friendly country instead of an enemy. He and his wife might have thought, "It's not like India is going to use the information to attack the US. What's the harm?"

[sofixa]

It would make some sense ( from his point of view). India have nuclear powered ballistic missile subs, but no attack ones, and if i recall correctly they're working with Naval Group on an indigenous nuclear attack sub design.

[pseingatl]

I would think France, who just got worked over by Australia and the US in the AUKUS deal.

India is a stretch. Having routinely dealt with Indian companies, there would be endless negotiations and squabbling over money. Endless.

[Crack12]

France ?.. You can't be serious.

The first contact was in april 2020. It's either Russia or China.