AUKUS – The Trilateral Security Partnership Agreement

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$(‘.blur’).html(` to build twelve 4,500-tonne conventionally powered Shortfin Barracuda submarines. Canceling the contract in favor of the AUKUS pact caused much anger in France and strained relations between the two countries. The financial cost to the Australian government was a settlement fee of AU$830m (€555 m).

The advantages of nuclear-powered subs are many, including having a longer range, their ability to stay submerged for longer, generally they stock a 90-day supply of food, and consequently spending three months underwater. The up-to-date electronics has superior intelligence collection along with the ability to deploy forces ashore making them a formidable vessel. The design of the new subs to be known as SSN-AUKUS will be a collaborative effort between Australia and Britain based on Britain’s next-generation attack submarine, SSNR, and enhanced with American technology.

It is envisaged the first subs are to be built in the Barrow-in-Furness shipyards in England and will be delivered by the late 2030s, Australia will start building the next phase in Adelaide which it is hoped will be delivered sometime after 2040. The new Australian manufacturing base has yet to be agreed but Port Kembla in New South Wales is the most likely option at present. The final phase is due in the early 2030s when Australia will buy up to five American-built Virginia-class subs. The current Australian submarine fleet of Collins Class subs is due to be retired around the mid-2030s.

In addition to building the new submarines, there will need to be a major upgrade and expansion of HMAS Stirling, the Australian Naval base near Perth, from where the subs will operate. There is also planned Australian investment in the British and American shipyards. And to be ready for the new subs and the technology they use, over the next few years, Australian sailors will work alongside their counterparts in the American and British navies.
Unsurprisingly, China has been very critical of the pact, it has issued a statement urging the U.S., Britain, and Australia to “abandon the Cold War mentality and zero-sum game”. And has described AUKUS as an “illegal transfer of nuclear weapon materials.” Whilst the submarines use enriched uranium, the reactors are to be welded shut before delivery, and will never require refueling during the life of the boat.

The UN, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says it will monitor any nuclear risks and engage in technical negotiation” with the UK, U.S. & Australia.
There are also others critical of the plans including many in Australia objecting to the costs, and those who object to nuclear power in any form. Australian military projects have become infamous for significant delays and cost overspends. In October, an official report stated that 28 defense projects totalling AU$70 billion were collectively running 97 years late, and eighteen of those projects were over budget by more than AU$6.5 billion.

There are also U.S. Senators who are concerned that the U.S. nuclear submarines program which is already under pressure and supplying Australia could cause America’s own submarine industrial base into breaking point. Maria Rost Rublee, a lecturer at the University of Auckland and a former intelligence officer in the Defence Intelligence Agency has said there is already arms transfer legislation before the (highly partisan) U.S. Congress that must pass to ensure the critical technology is shared with Australia.

In addition to the Submarines, the AUKUS pact covers a host of other defense-based technology; there are 11 working groups employed on other advanced military areas, including, electronic warfare, artificial intelligence, cyber-defence, underwater drones, new GPS systems, and hypersonic missiles. There are huge challenges to overcome both financially and politically but with the Indo-Pacific region, becoming increasingly important in global geopolitics, along with the rise of Chinese aspirations, the hope is that the pact will help to level the military playing field across the region. `);

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