What the AUKUS submarine deal means for Australian industry

The three AUKUS leaders, US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have emphasised the industry building aspects of the tri-lateral plan to jointly develop and build nuclear powered submarines.

The three leaders said in a joint statement: “Together we will deliver SSN-AUKUS – a trilaterally-developed submarine based on the United Kingdom’s next-generation design that incorporates technology from all three nations, including cutting edge U.S. submarine technologies.

“Australia and the United Kingdom will operate SSN-AUKUS as their submarine of the future.

“Australia and the United Kingdom will begin work to build SSN-AUKUS in their domestic shipyards within this decade.”

Australia has already begun, then abandoned, construction of a new shipyard at Osborne North in Adelaide (pictured) originally designed to build conventionally powered submarines designed in France.

Construction will now likely resume on the yard, which sits alongside common user facilities, the headquarters of ASC which constructed the Collins class vessels and new facilities now being used by BAE Systems Australia to construct Hunter class frigates.

When originally announced, it was said that the frigate and submarine construction yards at Osborne would cost more than $1 billion to construct.

The yard will now likely be enlarged even further – the Coalition government set aside further land in the area for future expansion.

The three leaders emphasised that all three AUKUS nations would be developed as a single, integrated supply chain.

They said: “…Our plan elevates all three nations’ industrial capacity to produce and sustain interoperable nuclear-powered submarines for decades to come, expands our individual and collective undersea presence in the Indo-Pacific, and contributes to global security and stability.

“In these outcomes, AUKUS reflects the principle that shared action, taken in partnership, can benefit all.”

The leaders also said the submarine announcement was only the first to come out of AUKUS, with the partners already jointly developing technology areas such as AI and hypersonics.

“…Implementing AUKUS will also require robust, novel information sharing and technology cooperation. Our nations are committed to further trilateral collaboration that will strengthen our joint capabilities, enhance our information and technology sharing, and integrate our industrial bases and supply chains while strengthening the security regimes of each nation.”

See also: AUSTRALIA TO BUY THREE VIRGINIA CLASS N-SUBMARINES, THEN BUILD 8 IN ADELAIDE

Picture: Picture: Adelaide’s unfinished submarine construction yard