Page 8 - Australian Defence Magazine October 2021

8 NEWS REVIEW INDUSTRY UPDATE
OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
AUSTRALIA OPTS FOR NUCLEAR SUBMARINES
EWEN LEVICK | MELBOURNE
ON September 16, US President Joe Biden, British PM Boris Johnson and Australian PM Scott Morrison announced that under the newly-created Australia-UK-US (AU- KUS) agreement, Australia will acquire nuclear powered, but not nuclear armed, submarines to replace its existing Collins class diesel submarines.
The announcement was the most sig- nificant defence capability announcement in Australia in decades. As a result, Aus- tralia’s agreement with the French Gov- ernment to acquire 12 large convention- ally powered submarines under the Attack class submarine project – the largest mili- tary acquisition in Australian history – is now over.
AUKUS also includes sharing informa- tion and expertise in AI, quantum tech- nology, underwater systems, hypersonic weapons and long-range strike capabili- ties. These include Tomahawk cruise mis- siles for the Hobart class destroyers and Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (Ex- tended Range) as a future F-35 weapon.
But the crown jewel in AUKUS is un- doubtedly the fact that Australia will be- come just the seventh nation globally to operate nuclear powered submarines, and only the second nation to ever be granted access to US nuclear propulsion secrets.
Morrison revealed that ‘at least eight’ new nuclear-powered submarines will be built in Adelaide with UK and US assis- tance. Australian mainstream media out- lets report that US Virginia class subma- rines will operate from Fleet Base West in Western Australia in the interim.
In a joint statement, Biden, Johnson and Morrison said they will leverage UK and US expertise to stand up an Australian nu- clear-powered submarine capability. Aus- tralia’s Future Nuclear Submarine Task Force, in conjunction with the US and UK, will undertake an 18-month study of the work required to bring the technology into Australia. No timeline for construction of the new submarines has been given.
“We will promote deeper information and technology sharing. We will foster deeper integration of security and defence- related science, technology, industrial bas-
ABOVE: Australia will procure nuclear-powered submarines under a deal with the US and the UK.
es, and supply chains. And in particular, we will significantly deepen cooperation on a range of security and defence capa- bilities,” the statement said.
“As the first initiative under AUKUS, recognising our common tradition as mar- itime democracies, we commit to a shared ambition to support Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy.
“We embark on a trilateral effort of 18 months to seek an optimal pathway to deliver this capability. We will lever- age expertise from the United States and the United Kingdom, building on the two countries’ submarine programs to bring an Australian capability into service at the earliest achievable date.”
Australia has previously rejected nuclear power and the announcement came as a surprise to the public at large, however Morrison was at pains to point out that al- though the submarines will be nuclear pow- ered, they will not be nuclear armed and Australia would comply with international nuclear weapons proliferation treaties. Mor- rison further stressed that Australia will not adopt nuclear power for civil purposes.
“Australia is not seeking to establish nu- clear weapons or establish a civil nuclear capability,” Morrison said.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese subsequently said that Labor would sup- port the plan on the condition that the government’s commitments to nuclear non-proliferation and not establishing a civil nuclear industry would be ironclad.
The news has caused a major rift with France, which has recalled its ambassadors from the US and Australia for the first time in modern history. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France Info radio that it was a ‘stab in the back’ and Defence Minister Florence Parly referred to the de- cision as evidence of a ‘lack of consistency which France can only notice and regret.’
Meanwhile, Naval Group said the an- nouncement was a ‘major disappointment’. “This is a major disappointment for Na- val Group,” the company said. “For five years, Naval Group teams, both in France and in Australia, as well as our partners, have given their best and Naval Group has
delivered on all its commitments.
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UK MOD