A three-phase plan between Australia, the UK and the US was unveiled today by President Joe Biden and his colleagues.
On September 13, 2021, the Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Illinois returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Michael B. Zingaro/US Navy via AP
US President Joe Biden announced on Monday that the US is preparing to sell three to five nuclear submarines to Australia, an unprecedented move that could pave the way for Canberra to jointly develop and eventually build its own strike ships in the coming decades.
Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese detailed the three-phase approach in the AUKUS agreement, which culminated in London and Canberra building improved versions of highly sensitive ships for their respective navies.
Sitting between the two countries, Biden said the three nations “commit to ensuring that the Indo-Pacific remains free, open, prosperous and secure, seize opportunities for all, and create a future based on our common values.” Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego. “We are in the best position to meet today’s and tomorrow’s challenges together.”
Biden has outlined steps on a “better path,” starting with the first phase of US and UK submarines visiting Australian ports and placing those sailors in US and UK military and nuclear energy schools. Both the US and the UK already use nuclear propulsion in their submarines, but Australia does not. Starting in 2027, the three countries will participate in a rotating submarine force known as the Western Submarine Rotation Force.
Once enough Australians have been trained and the country has enough infrastructure to accommodate a large number of submarines, it will move on to a second phase in which Canberra will buy three Virginia-class nuclear submarines from the US with the option to use them when two more need to be bought. . If US and Australian funding and infrastructure improvements for US shipyards come to fruition, it will be in the 2030s.
“We have developed a phased approach to ensure that Australian sailors are properly trained and prepared to operate this fleet safely so they can deliver this critical capability at the earliest possible time,” Biden said.
The third phase, which will begin in the next decade, is the heart of the agreement. The UK will design and deliver to its military a new nuclear submarine called the SSN AUKUS that will use American Virginia-class technology, and Australia will do the same for its navy based on the same new design in the early 2040s.
The submarines will replace the Collins-class diesel-powered submarines currently in service with the Australian Navy. The advantages of nuclear propulsion would change Australia’s underwater capabilities, allowing submarines to stay at sea for months at a time and giving them virtually unlimited range without having to go into port to refuel.
This plan is the best way for the trilateral group to ensure that Australia does not create a capacity gap while both countries develop their industrial submarine bases. “This is a real tripartite commitment. All three countries are ready to contribute, all three countries are ready to benefit from this,” said Albanese, who was second only to Biden with the right to speak.
The Biden administration is seizing the opportunity to invest heavily in its industrial submarine base by announcing a budget plan on Monday that will spend $4.6 billion on improvements over the next five years.
The decision to conclude the deal was made at the expense of France, which signed and committed to a multi-billion dollar deal to build non-nuclear submarines for Australia. But Canberra was drawn to the idea of using secret and powerful technology that would enable the Pacific nation to build a first-class naval force.
The ambitious effort will have to overcome a number of complex issues that have shaped the grand plan that Biden will lay out.
The bet that the United States and its allies can sustain the attention and investment needed to build and expand the necessary shipyards and train combat-ready troops will have to survive a change of government in all three countries over the next decade. Changes to export control rules will also need to be made in the coming years to allow the transfer of the most sensitive technologies to Australia.
Even shipping Virginia-class submarines to Australia will be a challenge because the two companies that build them, General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries, will not be able to meet the US Navy’s goal of producing two submarines a year.
“The U.S. submarine industrial base is not where it should be,” said a senior administration official who, on condition of anonymity, discussed the plans with reporters ahead of the announcement. “The Ministry of Defense is allocating significant additional resources to modernize the industrial base of submarines. They made an initial request to Congress, which was approved last year, and there will be additional funding in this year’s budget.”
Australia will provide an undisclosed amount of funding to help with this, the official said. “This is an opportunity for generations to grow the US and UK submarine industry base and build it for Australia.”
While three successive administrations have pledged more money, more power, and more attention to counter China’s growing military power, the submarine and technology deal is the biggest move Washington has made to date towards greater attention to the Indo-Pacific.
While the leaders were reluctant to publicly state that the move was in direct response to China’s growing assertiveness, a senior British military officer told POLITICO: “I can’t believe for a minute that Beijing is sitting there thinking, ‘AUKUS is great, go ahead.’ . ‘.
Revealing the $842 billion Pentagon budget on Monday, Deputy Defense Secretary Catherine Hicks said the investment is aimed at containing China.
“The latest budget further expands production capacity and purchases the maximum amount of ammunition most suitable for deterring and, if necessary, defeating aggression in the Indo-Pacific region,” she said.
Post time: Mar-20-2023