US Republicans hold subs plan to ransom in bid to boost domestic submarine production

Senate Republicans are threatening to block legislation to allow the transfer of Virginia-class submarines to Australia.

Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden seal the AUKUS pact at the Point Loma Naval Base in San Diego, in March. Picture: Getty Images

US Senate Republicans are threatening to block the transfer of Virginia-class submarines to Australia under the AUKUS pact unless Joe Biden boosts funding for domestic submarine production.

The move is being led by the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Roger Wicker, who ruled out language this week to authorise the nuclear submarine transfer in the latest version of the nation’s annual defence policy bill.

Senator Wicker told Politico that the Biden administration needed to “be sure we have enough submarines for our own security needs before we endorse that pillar of the (AUKUS) agreement”.

“The president needs to submit a supplemental request to give us an adequate number of submarines,” he said.

Senator Wicker told Politico that Australia’s promised US$3bn investment in the US submarine industrial base would be insufficient to ensure sufficient boats to meet both countries’ needs.

“We need a concrete plan that includes not only the authorisation and money for an adequate number of attack submarines, but a plan for the industrial base to actually get there.”

The brawl comes despite the endorsement of the submarine transfer by the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee last week, which approved legislation granting Australia a 20-year exemption from strict technology export rules.

It follows a government-wide spending cap under a debt limit deal between Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

US defence policy expert Ashley Townshend, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said a three-way battle was unfolding over the submarine plan between the Biden administration and defence and deficit hawks.

The future Virginia-class attack submarine Montana during sea trials. Picture: Supplied

“It beggars belief these issues weren’t foreseen,” he said.

“All parties should have known that industrial base concerns would be a big issue on Capitol Hill, and the administration should have had a concrete plan to address them.”

He said getting additional funding through Congress will be difficult.

“Republicans are politically committed to a strict debt ceiling, so there will be internal party tension between defence hawks and deficit hawks if a supplemental spending bill is sought.

“Even if the Biden administration is willing to pursue a defence supplemental (budget), Democrats on the Hill will want this to be matched with spending on social security.

“These familiar ‘guns and butter’ dynamics won’t be easy to solve, though the White House might try to pull rank on something as big as AUKUS which is deemed too big to fail.”

Senator Wicker argued in a Wall St Journal opinion piece published last Sunday that US submarine production needed to be doubled to meet the needs of both countries.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed and Senator Roger Wicker this week. Picture: Getty Images

“As it stands, the AUKUS plan would transfer US Virginia-class submarines to a partner nation before we have met our own navy’s requirements,” Senator Wicker wrote.

The US Navy currently has 49 nuclear attack submarines – well under the service’s goal of 66. The fleet is expected to fall to 46 by 2030 as older boats retire faster than they can be replaced.

Senator Wicker said to deliver on the AUKUS commitment to supply at least three Virginia-class submarines to Australia from 2030, US production needed to rise from the current 1.2 boats per year to between 2.3 and 2.5.

He warned improvements to submarine maintenance were also needed, with nearly 40 per cent of US attack submarines unable to be deployed due to maintenance delays.