Australian Nuclear Submarine
On 15 September 2021 the US, UK and Australia announced a new military initiative, dedicated to a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” The first step of the alliance that appeared aimed against China is to provide Canberra with nuclear submarines. President Biden announced the three-way tech-sharing pact with the UK and Australia, including nuclear defense as the countries met to discuss ‘threats’ including China. Biden announced a new defense pact, called AUKUS and involving the UK and Australia. It focused on sharing information in areas like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, long-range strike capabilities, and even nuclear defense infrastructure.
At the same time, Australia cancelled an existing deal with France for conventionally powered submarines. The French Barracuda boats are nuclear-powered, but Paris had committed to a diesel-driven sdesign babsed on the Barracuda. Some of the cost growth and schedule delay om the Australian program was due to this modification.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and US President Joe Biden held a virtual news conference to unveil their new joint partnership on advanced defense-tech sharing. Morrison revealed in his address that the first major initiative of the new trilateral security partnership - dubbed AUKUS - will be to deliver a nuclear-powered submarine fleet to Australia.
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday conducted a keynote interview with Bradley Peniston for Defense One’s “State of Defense” Webinar on Sept. 23, 2021. "The AUKUS announcement was made during ISS, and so I think, strategically, that’s a very, very important and, I think, brilliant stroke with respect to our posture in the Pacific, particularly vis-à-vis China. And I think that the effort that’s ongoing as a result of the agreement that was announced has the United States Navy working very closely with the Australian navy to help determine what the optimum path will be to safely deliver not solely the submarines but the enterprise that has to support them. This is everything from a defense industrial base in Australia to a community inside the Australian navy that’s able to man, train, and equip those submarines to sustain them to the oversight mechanisms similar to what we have in the United States Navy to oversee those nuclear-powered vessels. This is a very long-term effort that’ll be decades, I think, before a submarine goes in the water. It could be. I don’t see this as a short-term timeline." John G. Ferrari and William C. Greenwalt argued that "we have announced a major power shift in the Pacific but followed the announcement with an assurance to China that it will be decades (note the plural) before the shift takes hold."
In 2020 Government directed Defence to implement a strategy that signals Australia’s ability – and willingness – to project military power and deter actions against Australia. Previously Defence’s Strategic Objectives were equally weighted between the three geographical priorities of Australia and its approaches, our nearer region, and the broader global order. Defence’s new strategic objectives are to employ military power to shape Australia’s strategic environment, deter actions against Australian interests and, when required, respond with credible military force.
The size and geographical location of Australia impose long transit times upon Australia’s submarines. The speed and endurance offered by nuclear-powered submarines are tailor-made for these conditions.
- Conventional-only navies such as South Korea and Japan are concerned at present with operations in home waters, for which the long range and fast transit times of nuclear powered submarines offer little advantage.
- Mixed-fleet navies such as China and Russia deploy conventional submarines for home waters operations and atomic submarines for longer range operations.
- Nuclear-only navies of the United States and United Kingdom reflect the global responsibilities of these countries, and a relative lack of concern about home waters threats.
Thus international reaction to the acquisition of nuclear powered submarines by Australia reflects more than the simple augmentation of undersea warfighting capabilities. It also must be seen as reflecting an enlargement in the potential scope of operations by the Royal Australian Navy, from regional responsibilities in South-East Asia, to the entire Indo-Pacific theater.
John G. Ferrari and William C. Greenwalt argued that "The first step is to start moving now. In the coming months, the Australians need to be sent to school, or more specifically the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command’s Nuclear Power School. Upon graduation, these enlisted personnel should complete their training on board operational U.S. submarines. After training up a cadre of Aussies, and rather than wishing for a brand-new class of paper submarines, we should loan the Australians one or two of ours operated by skeleton crews.... the Astute class submarine program is winding down. It makes perfect sense to extend that production line so that the Aussies can buy the next Astute that can be built after the current U.K. order. This potentially could take place as soon as 2028. "
The first two elements of their proposal - training Australian crews at US Navy schools, and leasing a few older American boats, are blindingly obvious, though seldom discussed. The Australians are probably not interested in buying Astutes, a move that does nothing for Australian industry or Australian jobs, nor are the British likely to be interested in prolonging the prodution of these boats, which would delay their plans for a more advanced successor.
Understandably, the French were not pleased with this development. The pre-existing contract for Attack-class submarines was to deliver a new conventional design based on the existing nuclear powered Barracuda. But the redesign proved rather more complicated than initially anticipated, and by 2021 the program had exhibited rather alarming cost growth and schedule delays. The design incorporated traditional lead-acid batteries, while the emerging global standard was more powerful lithium-ion batteries. The strategic environment had changed, and there was a view that Australia needed a longer-range nuclear boat to confront an increasingly belligerent China.
Former Australian premier Kevin Rudd suggested that instead of simply choosing the American offer, Canberra should have let France compete in a new open tender. But this would have opened the project to a French government that was decidedly softer on China than USA or UK [or Australian], possibly derailing the whole enterprise. Such a competition would have further delayed the delivery of the first boat. The American and British submarines use bomb-grade Highly Enriched Uranium [HEU] as fuel, and do not need refueling for the life of the boat. French submarines use fuel of lower enrichment, and the reactors require refueling. Australia does not have nor does it seek the nuclear infrastructure required for reactor refueling, and depending on France for refueling would place a strategic asset in the hands of another country half-way around the world.
on 10 June 2022 the Australian Government finalised negotiations with Naval Group to conclude the Attack class submarine program. The government reached a fair and equitable settlement of €555 million (around $830 million) with Naval Group. Now that the matter is resolved Australia can move forward with the relationship with France. The Australian Prime Minister said "Australia and France share deep historical ties of friendship, forged in common sacrifice in war. We are both vibrant democracies, committed to upholding human rights and fundamental values. We deeply respect France's role and active engagement in the Indo-Pacific."
There is a “huge level of uncertainty in the AUKUS submarine deal," Australia’s Greens Senator David Shoebridge said in a statement 28 April 2023, after what he described as the agreement’s "unprecedented" contingency fund was revealed. The Greens party had earlier commissioned an analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office into the costs linked to the AUKUS nuclear submarine program. The scrutiny revealed that the A$368 billion (US$245 billion) agreement over three decades incorporated a 50% contingency fund. In other words, the budget overrun is anticipated to be at least A$123 billion (more than US$82 billion). A major part of the expenses connected with the submarine program would fall on the two decades from 2033, the data reportedly shows.
The Albanese Government took the next step towards delivering Australia’s conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines, with the launch of the Australian Submarine Agency (ASA) on 01 July 2023. With its official establishment, the ASA will be responsible and accountable for the management and oversight of the nuclear-powered submarine program. The Albanese Government was pleased to announce the appointment of Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead as the Agency’s inaugural Director-General. As chief of the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Taskforce, Vice Admiral Mead demonstrated his leadership and judgement in supporting the establishment of the pathway to acquire this critical capability through the AUKUS partnership.
The ASA has over 350 staff from the Australian Defence Force and Australian Public Service, including many who have transitioned from the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Taskforce and others who have joined since the Government’s announcement in March 2023. It is expected to almost double to more than 680 staff over the next year, drawing on a diverse skillset required to deliver this significant endeavour.
Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Pat Conroy, MP, said: “The Australian Submarine Agency will be vital in developing the capability needed to operate our nuclear-powered submarines. Our acquisition of conventionally-armed nuclear-powered submarines will generate 20,000 jobs for the Australian economy. The Agency will play a critical role not only in growing and developing the Australian industrial base to deliver conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines, but will also strengthen our partnership with the US and the UK, to deliver a stronger, more secure Australia and Indo-Pacific region.”
On 21 March 2024 it was announed tha ASC Pty Ltd and BAE Systems will build the SSN-AUKUS submarines for the Royal Australian Navy. BAE Systems has been at the heart of the UK's submarine enterprise for generations. SSN-AUKUS is being trilaterally developed, based on the United Kingdom's next-generation design and incorporating technology from all three nations, including cutting edge United States submarine technologies. Also to be built by the UK and operated by the Royal Navy, SSN-AUKUS will be equipped for intelligence, surveillance, undersea warfare and strike missions, and will provide maximum interoperability among AUKUS partners.
ASC has been at the centre of Australia's sovereign submarine program for decades as Australia's sovereign submarine sustainment partner, and the builder of Australia's Collins-class submarines. ASC will build its sustainment capability for SSNs, including through partnering opportunities with UK and US industry. Sustainment capability is critical to the Optimal Pathway, accelerating Australia's ability to operate and sustain its own Virginia class submarines as soon as possible and contribute to regional security, together with AUKUS partners.
The Optimal Pathway was always designed to create a stronger, more resilient trilateral submarine industrial base, supporting submarine production and maintenance in all three countries. The announcements today are a testament to that - the build of SSN-AUKUS will increase opportunities for industrial base collaboration, strengthen our collective industrial base capacity, and generate economic growth in defense and national security sectors in all three countries. Similarly, the announcement of Australia's sovereign sustainment partner is a key milestone to build Australia's capacity to operate and sustain nuclear-powered submarines. ASC will, in time, develop robust industry partnerships with UK and US businesses to gain the technical skills, know-how and capacity to sustain nuclear-powered submarines.
All AUKUS partners are investing significantly to ensure success of the Optimal Pathway and are working at pace to transform and integrate our trilateral industrial bases to support SSN cooperation.
Australia has agreed an AUD$1.5 billion investment for early priority works at HMAS Stirling, to put in place the enablers for the safe and secure rotational presence of United Kingdom and United States SSNs through Submarine Rotational Force-West from 2027. Australia has also commenced enabling works at the future nuclear-powered submarine construction yard at Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide. All up, Australia has committed at least AUD $18 billion in infrastructure upgrades across South Australia and Western Australia over the next 10 years to enable critical milestones for the Optimal Pathway.
The United States has announced the intended investment of USD $11.4 billion in its submarine industrial base across the five-year defense budget period starting in 2025 to increase the production rate of Virginia class submarines as quickly and effectively as possible, to meet its own fleet requirements and support U.S. commitments under AUKUS.
The United Kingdom also announced last year that it would inject GBP £3 billion into its Defence Nuclear Enterprise, including the construction of submarine industrial infrastructure that will help to deliver the SSN-AUKUS program. Subsequently, Rolls-Royce has announced that it will double the size of its Derby site to support the delivery of the UK and Australian programs, which will include building all of Australia's nuclear reactors.
Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States remain fully committed to this shared endeavour. These steps to grow Australia's submarine construction and maintenance capability are critical to the AUKUS partnership, expanding trilateral industrial capacity and building the collective resilience of AUKUS partners to produce and sustain conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines for decades to come.
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