The leaders of the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia have announced plans that Australia will purchase nuclear-powered attack submarines from the U.S. to modernize its fleet under a security pact for the Asia Pacific.
United States President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced an arrangement for Australia to acquire a conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) capability under the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) enhanced security partnership that was first unveiled in 2021. The announcement was made on March 13, 2023, in San Diego.
Australia’s future SSN (called ‘SSN-AUKUS’) will be a state-of-the-art platform designed to leverage the best of submarine technology from all three nations. SSN-AUKUS will be based upon the United Kingdom’s next-generation SSN design while incorporating cutting edge U.S. submarine technologies, and will be built and deployed by both Australia and the United Kingdom, according to the White House.
Being sensitive to tensions with China, Biden stressed that the submarines are “nuclear powered, not nuclear armed.”
“Australia is a proud non-nuclear weapons state and has committed to stay that way. These boats will not have any nuclear weapons of any kind of them,” he said at an outdoor ceremony at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, where he was flanked by Albanese and Sunak.
Australian prime minister noted it was “the first time in 65 years and only the second time in history that the United States has shared its nuclear propulsion technology,” and said, “we thank you for it”. Albanese said the agreement “represents the biggest single investment in Australia’s defense capability in all of our history.”
British Prime Minister Sunak called AUKUS “the most significant multilateral defense partnership in generations.” He said the UK also will share its 60 years of experience running its own submarine fleet with Australian engineers “so they can build their own fleet.”
Australia is buying three Virginia-class boats as part of AUKUS. A future generation of submarines will be built in the U.K. and in Australia with U.S. technology and support.
British-led design chosen for AUKUS submarine project
The first generation of AUKUS nuclear submarines will be built in the UK and Australia, based on the UK’s world-leading submarine design.
“The AUKUS partnership, and the submarines we are building in British shipyards, are a tangible demonstration of our commitment to global security. This partnership was founded on the bedrock of our shared values and resolute focus on upholding stability in the Indo-Pacific and beyond” Sunak said.
SSN-AUKUS will be the future attack submarine for both Australia and the United Kingdom. “The SSN-AUKUS submarines will be the largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy, combining world-leading sensors, design and weaponry in one vessel” according to the UK government.
UK intends to deliver its first SSN-AUKUS to the UK Royal Navy in the late 2030s while Australia plans to deliver the first Australian-built SSN-AUKUS to the Royal Australian Navy in the early 2040s.
UK Defence Secretary said that “This is a significant step forward for our three nations as we work together to contribute to security in the Indo-Pacific and across the world”, adding that it would also “showcase the prowess of British industry to our allies and partners.”
