Australia preparing to acquire five US-built nuclear-powered submarines
Australia will reportedly buy up to five nuclear-powered submarines from the US as a stopgap measure before construction ramps up in Adelaide on separate British subs.
SA News
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Australia will purchase up to five Virginia-class submarines from the US to speed up the acquisition of a nuclear-powered fleet before construction of British-designed submarines ramps up in Adelaide, according to reports.
The US-built vessels would provide a stopgap measure for Australia to operate nuclear-powered submarines in the region while it develops the capability to construct the boats locally at the Osborne shipyard.
According to international media reports, the US would forward deploy a number of submarines to WA by 2027. Australia would then purchase up to five Virginia-class submarines by the mid-2030s.
Production would then shift to Australia, where a next-generation, nuclear-powered, British-designed submarine would be built with American technology.
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Defence Minister Richard Marles’s office did not comment on the reports.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is currently in India, refused to confirm any details but maintained Australia would retain “our absolute sovereignty” over the new capability.
“I’ll be making further comments about specific proposals at the appropriate time,” he said.
“We’re great friends, we have over a century of standing side-by-side during peacetime and during conflict, and I look forward to the announcements next week.”
Prior to the reports emerging, the head of Defence’s Nuclear-Powered Submarine Taskforce, Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead, said the level of work to be done in Adelaide would be even greater than anticipated.
“We are talking about thousands of thousands of job opportunities,” Vice Admiral Mead told The Advertiser.
“We’ve got to design a shipyard, we’ve got to build that shipyard and then we’ve got to build the submarines, and we’re going to do that for decades.
“That will redefine South Australia’s industrial landscape and bring a level of expertise and sophistication that is only seen in very few places in the world.”
Mr Albanese confirmed he will meet with US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in San Diego on Monday to unveil the “optimal pathway” for Australia to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton, who was the defence minister when the AUKUS pact was struck in 2021, warned last week that selecting a British submarine design could delay the upgrade of Australia’s defences.
But former PM Scott Morrison shot down the warning, saying choosing a British design would “fall completely into the original aspirations and intentions of AUKUS”.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the Coalition would support “whatever process and decision the AUKUS task force has landed at”.
“We recognise the importance of bipartisanship in this,” he told ABC Radio National.
“We want to make sure that there is a greater opening for industry to be able to participate across Australia, the US and the UK, and that’s going to require regulatory changes in different countries to help to ensure as seamless an integration of our defence industries as possible to get this project delivered.”
gabriel.polychronis@news.com.au
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