AUKUS signals a return to capital ship strategies
A century after HMAS Australia shaped enemy strategy in World War I, nuclear submarines are poised to make our nation a formidable naval power once again.
Not since World War I has Australia had in its order of battle a capital ship. That was the battle cruiser HMAS Australia. A capital ship must be capable of such immense destruction combined with relative invulnerability that an enemy calculates they don’t wish to be in its vicinity.
HMAS Australia demonstrated this early in World War I. The Germans sent a powerful cruiser squadron into the eastern Pacific which despatched a British squadron on its arrival. The German commander received intelligence that HMAS Australia was on its way to attack him. He retreated to the Atlantic. He began to mount an attack on the Falklands but encountered a British fleet which included two of HMAS Australia’s equivalents. All the German cruisers were sunk.
The modern capital ship is the fast-attack nuclear-powered submarine. A very destructive weapons fit combined with sufficient stealth for near invulnerability.
The nuclear-powered attack submarine to be sold to Australia followed by the construction of a British Australian submarine is the cornerstone of AUKUS.
The government is focused on a strategy of deterrence at a distance. The submarine’s striking power, virtually limitless range and stealth makes it the centrepiece of the strategy. It will ensure our capacity both to project power and to deter an enemy’s operation against our shores.
If executed correctly, this will mark the first time in more than a century that Australia possesses a force able to safeguard our sovereignty and strengthen the collective security of our allies. But this outcome is not guaranteed.
The decisions we make in the coming years will determine our ability to effectively design, deliver and sustain a nuclear submarine fleet that fulfils its role as a strategic deterrent for the decades ahead.
We must be self-confident in making clear choices about the capabilities we require, the partners who can provide them, how rapidly we can bring them into service, and how we build the sovereign workforce and industrial base to sustain them.
We can take some encouragement from the government’s approach to the recent selection of the Japanese Mogami-class as the preferred platform for the Royal Australian Navy’s future fleet of general-purpose frigates.
This relatively short selection process struck a balance between speed to service, fielding an advanced platform that provides a capability edge, and advancing our sovereign defence industry.
A similarly disciplined and decisive approach will be essential as we define the capabilities that will ensure the AUKUS submarines deliver a genuine deterrent effect.
By selecting proven primes with deep expertise, a strong track record, and experience in building and sustaining nuclear submarine capabilities, we can reduce program risk while gaining the benefits of operational effectiveness and long-term industrial resilience.
Thankfully, we are not embarking on this national endeavour with a blank slate. Far from it. Some key elements already exist, including a sovereign combat system design and integration workforce developed and retained by Lockheed Martin Australia from the Attack-class program.
This capability is bolstered by Lockheed Martin’s unparalleled and deep experience as combat system integrator and sustainer across all classes of US Navy submarines. This provides a foundation of expertise and operational knowledge that can be leveraged as we develop our nuclear credentials and capabilities.
In addition, our longstanding defence partnerships with the UK and the US places Australia alongside well established and highly capable industrial bases. Through these relationships and industry partnerships, we have access to low-risk, high-assurance choices for design, construction and sustainment, allowing us to pursue programs with clarity and certainty.
Such technical sophistication and operational experience, underpinned by the trusted collaboration of our allies, ensure that Australia can navigate challenges securely, make informed strategic decisions at pace and sustain progress even when unexpected problems arise.
These partnerships will strengthen our industrial base, enhance our expertise, and underpin the nation’s ability to deliver a resilient and world-class sea power capability now and into the future. In return our geographic position and scale makes us a pivotal ally in the region for the US in particular.
Our region is now heavily in focus both for the UK and US and its pacing great power, the latter having recently identified Southeast Asia as a clear priority in its strategic planning.
View our zone with a globe rather than a flat map, our geography overhangs archipelagic and southern approaches to the Asian continent. Our north has the capacity to host numerous well-dispersed defence installations. As in World War II we have the capacity to be a last bastion of American capacity to operate in the western Pacific.
As a core element of deterrence at distance the submarines help turn our north from being a vulnerability to a source of strength. This is particularly so for a power such as the US which has substantial projection capabilities.
Stealthy, powerful and enduring, an Australian nuclear submarine fleet will shape the decisions of those who might threaten our interests and provide assurance in a region increasingly defined by uncertainty. Restoring such a “capital ship” capability to our order of battle is about far more than simply acquiring advanced platforms. It is about making the critical choices to cultivate Australian expertise, strengthen partnerships, and build a resilient industrial base that will all ensure our security and strategic influence endures.
HMAS Australia once shaped enemy strategy. The RAN’s Virginia-class and SSN-AUKUS-class submarines can signal that Australia is a nation capable of defending its sovereignty, and the interests of its allies, with sophistication and resolve.
Kim Beazley is an adviser to Lockheed Martin Australia and served as Australia’s defence minister from 1984-90.
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