Pentagon seeks Congress approval for nuclear submarine transfer to Australia

News, US May 19, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States Department of Defense has asked Congress to authorize the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia under the AUKUS agreement. After receiving the green light from the U.S. Congress, Australia would be able to acquire two Virginia-class submarines.

Member of the U.S. Armed Services Committee’s Sea Power Panel Joe Courtney praised Pentagon’s proposal in his statement by saying that “The Department of Defense’s legislative proposals are the latest example of President Biden’s commitment to fulfilling the AUKUS agreement.”

Pentagon’s proposal highlights that the submarine deals under the AUKUS agreement would expand the U.S. submarine industrial base. It says that the agreement would “add a significant number of trade workers” that will help address “the significant overhaul backlog” for the Virginia-class submarine. The proposal also says that the AUKUS accord would create at least 22,000 new jobs for Americans in the first phase of submarine production.

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 agreement also includes cooperation between the three countries on advanced cyber security, artificial intelligence, undersea capabilities, and hypersonic and counter-hypersonic weapons technologies.

In the first phase, Australia would acquire at least five Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the U.S. by 2030. The procurement for the first five submarines was announced during the meeting between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in March this year. Australia would initially buy two Virginia-class submarines and have the option to buy three more in the future.

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

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.

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 positively as the rest of the Western 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”.

Once the delivery has been completed, it would be the first time that U.S.-made nuclear submarine technology would be exported since the 1960s. The last time, it was Britain that received help from the U.S. in designing and producing nuclear-powered submarines for its navy.