Written by staff writer.
Australia will spend nearly AUD370 billion over the next several decades to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines that a RAN Vice Admiral says will offer a generational change capability.
Standing alongside US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in San Diego on Monday, March 13 (US time), Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced details of the AUKUS agreement, which will see Australia receive submarines until mid-century as well as building a sovereign nuclear submarine manufacturing capability in Adelaide.
After acquiring three to five off-the-shelf US-manufactured Virginia class submarines in the 2030s, Australia will begin producing its own submarines based on a UK design in Adelaide from the early 2040s. Those submarines will incorporate US technology and weapons systems and be known as SSN-AUKUS class submarines.
Under the agreement, Australia will build eight AUKUS class submarines to complement the Virginia class fleet (expected to be phased out from the 2060s). If timelines stick, Australia could have 11 nuclear-powered submarines in the water by the 2050s.
In the meantime, the US will deploy four Virginia class submarines on rotation to HMAS Stirling Naval Base outside Perth for four years from 2027. The UK will also rotate one Astute-class submarine out of Perth from around 2030.
Albanese said the submarine agreement was Australia’s biggest single defence capability investment ever and marked a new chapter in the relationship between Australia, the US, and the UK. The announcement received strong bipartisan support in Australia and the US. Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the ABC that it was an important day and that he was pleased the current government had followed through on his initiative. “I’m very proud of our country and the step we’ve just taken,” he said.
RAN Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead, Chief of the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Task Force, said Australia needed the capability to protect its population, defend its borders, and safeguard its economy.
“The three AUKUS leaders made an unprecedented announcement today on the AUKUS pathway, the sharing of information, and working together to deliver Australia a generational change capability,” he said.
“If you look at what’s happening in Europe right now with Russia, the reclamation of land in the South China Sea and the military modernization of islands there… a bunch of effectors have played into this and has culminated in this government making a decision to deliver a world-class capability which will defend Australia.”
Mead noted that the US intends to cease production of the Virginia class submarines in the 2040s and said relying on that class of vessel for the long term was not a sustainable solution. “The thought process was, what gives us an enduring solution?”
The vice admiral has a high degree of confidence in the UK Astute class submarines, the design of which he says is about 70% mature. “We will build them in conjunction with the United Kingdom. They will build theirs first. We will build behind them to de-risk those first-of-class issues you sometimes have.”
Coinciding with Monday’s announcement, Australia has been on a global diplomatic offensive, briefing around 60 countries, including ASEAN nations, Five Eyes partners, and key European nations, including France. Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell is presently in Asia speaking to allies there, while China has reportedly declined a briefing. Anthony Albanese will also meet with Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka on his way back to Australia.
“Our AUKUS partnership is not just about the US and the UK sharing their most advanced submarine capability with Australia, although we do appreciate that,” said Albanese. “It’s also about building on the expertise within our three nations so that we can achieve things greater than the sum of our parts. This is a genuine trilateral undertaking. All three nations stand ready to contribute, and all three nations stand ready to benefit.”
