Australia has concluded plans to announce that it will buy as many as five US Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines in the 2030s as part of a landmark Pacific security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom, according to four US officials.
According to the so-called AUKUS agreement, at least one US submarine would make port visits to Australian territory in the upcoming years, and by the late 2030s, a new class of submarines will be constructed using US and UK designs and technologies.
The next steps for AUKUS will be discussed when Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in San Diego on Monday.
Collaboration on hypersonic missiles, artificial intelligence, and cyberwarfare are also anticipated under the Pacific Security Pact, which was initially announced in September 2021. is condemned by Beijing and is seen as an effort to offset China’s rising might and assertive attitude in the region.
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Two of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that after the annual port visits, the US would deploy some submarines in Western Australia by about 2027.
In the early 2030s, Australia would buy three Virginia-class submarines and have the option to buy two more. Nuclear submarines can stay underwater for longer than conventional ones and are harder to detect.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing multiple unnamed sources, that the UK had “succeeded in its bid to sell British-designed nuclear submarines to Australia” and that Sunak was “buzzing about it” when he told ministers.
It suggested that the Virginia-class submarines from the US would be a “stop-gap” while Australia and the UK worked together on a design for a next-generation submarine from the existing Astute class vessel, noting that the task’s complexity meant it might not be ready until the 2040s. The Times newspaper also reported that Australia would acquire British submarines.
On Monday the British government is also due to publish an update to its so-called “Integrated Review” of security, defence and foreign policy, a spokesman for Sunak said in London.
Australia currently operates a fleet of six conventionally powered Collins-class submarines, which will have their service life extended to 2036.