UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expected to unveil nuclear subs deal with Australia

Australia is tipped to buy up to five US nuclear submarines while building its own fleet of UK-designed boats.

Australia is expected to buy up to five nuclear submarines from the US while building its own British-designed, American-armed boats in a once-in-a-generation transformation of the nation’s defences.

A series of leaks on both sides of the Atlantic has shed light on how Australia will acquire a nuclear-powered fleet, days out from the AUKUS announcement in San Diego by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Anthony Albanese is set to meet Joe Biden next week. Picture: Twitter

Defence Minister Richard Marles said: “It is difficult to overstate the step that as a nation we are about to take … We have never operated a military capability at this level before.”

Under the three-phase plan, reported by outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Australia would buy three Virginia-class nuclear submarines from the US by the early 2030s with an option to purchase two more.

Australia could buy up to five US nuclear submarines while building its own fleet of UK-designed boats. Picture: Getty Images

Before then, in an effort to prepare Australia for its own fleet, US-operated submarines would visit our shores more regularly and could be deployed to Western Australia by around 2027.

Once the design of a next-generation British submarine with American weapons is finalised, construction will begin on those boats in South Australia, completing what the AUKUS partners have promised will be a “genuine trilateral solution”.

Mr 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.”

Peter Dutton, who was the defence minister when the AUKUS pact was unveiled 18 months ago, last year revealed he believed Australia could buy some submarines from the US to cover a looming capability gap when our conventional Collins-class boats began to retire.

That was rejected by some US Navy chiefs and senior politicians, who warned the American defence industrial base was already struggling to meet its domestic needs.

But US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told Mr Marles in December: “We will not allow Australia to have a capability gap.”

PM Anthony Albanese is expected to unveil Australia’s “optimal pathway” to acquiring a nuclear-powered fleet in San Diego. Picture: Getty Images

In a secretive process, the AUKUS partners worked on a plan to improve the submarine capabilities of all three countries, leading to the new British design armed with a common combat system being preferred for Australia’s onshore production line.

The smaller crewing requirements of the British boat were also judged to be an advantage, given the challenge for Australia to adequately man the new submarines.

One of Mr Sunak’s ministers told The Guardian: “The deal has definitely gone our way.”

“The prime minister was buzzing about it when he told ministers, smiling and bouncing on the balls of his feet,” the minister said.

Mr Marles, speaking in parliament on Thursday, said Australia would become the seventh country in the world to operate a nuclear-powered fleet.

But he moved to reassure Australia’s neighbours, saying: “These submarines will have the capability to operate at war, but the true intent of this capability is to provide for the stability and the peace of our region.”

The Chinese government has angrily opposed AUKUS since it was announced by former prime minister Scott Morrison.

Mr Dutton promised to support the decisions of the government as he added: “We are not an aggressive nation – we are a nation that strives for peace.”

Mr Marles also praised Mr Morrison for driving the AUKUS pact.

“This will be a massive industrial endeavour which will see thousands of jobs created over the coming decades, but much more importantly will contribute to the technological advancement of our wider economy,” he said.

The cost of purchasing and building the nuclear fleet remains unclear but experts have suggested it could top $100bn, with the US likely to expect a major investment to help expand its production line to meet Australia’s short-term submarine needs.

Originally published as UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expected to unveil nuclear subs deal with Australia