The U.S. has committed to selling Australia three in-service Virginia-class nuclear submarines while pivoting from the planned acquisition of one new and two in-service Virginias as part the multi-billion-dollar AUKUS submarine deal.
Australia plans to acquire a fleet of cutting-edge, fast attack nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS, a multi-decade defence pact with Britain and the United States.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey announced the revision to the AUKUS acquisition plan during the a recent AUKUS Defense Ministers Meeting held on the sidelines of the International Institute of Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
“The Deputy Prime Minister and Secretaries welcomed the proposed approach to streamline Australia’s acquisition of Virginia-class submarines (VCS), simplifying supply chain management, operational and maintenance requirements and maximizing cost efficiencies. This approach would enable Australia to acquire three in-service VCS in lieu of a mixture of new and in-service VCS variants,” reads a joint statement issued after the announcement as seen by USNI News.
Marles explained the decision to change the parameters was made to simplify Australia’s future operations of submarines as it goes ahead with preparations.
Australia had planned to extend the lifespan of its conventional in-service Collins-class submarine to operate alongside the two used Virginia-class submarines, a new-build Virginia-class and the SSN-AUKUS submarine.
Doing so would mean Australia would at some point operate four classes of submarines.
“That gets pretty complicated in terms of how you’re operating a fleet of submarines,” Marles said, according to a transcript of the conference.
The Aukus deal was first announced in September 2021 and while it is not explicitly stated, it is believed to be about countering China’s growing presence in the Indo-Pacific region, and its role in rising tensions in disputed territories such as the South China Sea, BBC News sets out.
China condemned the agreement as “extremely irresponsible” when it was first announced.
From 2027, the pact will allow both the US and UK to base a small number of nuclear submarines in Perth, Western Australia.
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