Australia to buy five nuclear submarines from US under AUKUS deal

Asia-Pacific, News, US March 9, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Australia is set to buy as many as five Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the U.S. under its highly anticipated Pacific security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom.

The so-called AUKUS deal was signed between the U.S., Australia, and UK in September 2021. Under the deal, Australia would acquire nuclear-powered submarines through assistance. The deal also includes cooperation between the three countries on advanced cyber security, artificial intelligence, undersea capabilities, and hypersonic and counter-hypersonic weapons technologies.

According to U.S. officials, at least one of the five nuclear-powered submarines would arrive in Australia by 2030. A new class of nuclear-powered submarines is also being built by the UK to be delivered to Australia in the coming year.

Although there has not been any official announcement about the procurement of the submarines so far, the leaders of the three countries are set to meet next week to discuss the terms of the AUKUS deal.

It is expected that the procurement of submarines would be announced during the meeting between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Australia would initially buy three Virginia-class submarines and would have the option to buy two more in the future.

Nuclear submarines can stay underwater far longer than conventional submarines. The idea of the increased presence of nuclear-powered submarines under the control of Australian and U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific region agitated China. China’s government was vocal about its concerns and accused the U.S., UK, and Australia of following the cold-war mentality and increasing tensions in the region.

*^{U.S. Virginia-class attack submarine Pre-commissioning unit John Warner (SSN 785). (Image Credit: U.S. Navy/John Whalen/Huntington Ingalls Industries)}*

Australia’s landmark decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines gathered praise from the western allies as it would strengthen their position in the Pacific region against the rising threat of China’s naval modernization. However, France did not perceive the deal as positively as the rest of its allies. In order to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, Australia unilaterally canceled a $65 billion deal with France to acquire conventional submarines. French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called the AUKUS deal a “stab in the back”.

The AUKUS deal has also gathered concerns from regional actors such as Malaysia and Indonesia as the presence of too many nuclear-powered submarines in the Pacific Ocean could spark a race for nuclear arms in the region.

If the deal goes through and Australia receives submarines from the U.S., it would be the first time that U.S.-made nuclear submarine technology would be exported since the 1960s. Last time it was Britain that received help from the U.S. in designing and producing nuclear-powered submarines for its navy.