Officials from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have indicated defense, aerospace, and security company BAE Systems will play a key role in helping Australia acquire its first nuclear-powered submarines.
The trilateral agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (AUKUS) would deliver a submarine based on the UK’s next-generation design, incorporating technology from all three nations. Australia and the UK will operate SSN-AUKUS as their submarines of the future, with construction expected to begin this decade.
“The AUKUS agreement will further enhance and deepen the relationship between the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia,” BAE Systems Chief Executive Charles Woodburn said. “The selection of the UK’s next-generation submarine design is a significant development in that partnership and is a testament to the skills, commitment, and ingenuity of everyone involved in both our Submarines business and the wider UK submarine enterprise.”
Woodburn said BAE Systems looks forward to working with the Australian government to explore how to potentially provide additional support for the tri-national program.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently joined President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak regarding the AUKUS initiative.
“This is the next step forward in the transformational partnership among our three great democracies,” Austin said. “In September 2021, the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom laid out an ambitious vision for our countries that will strengthen our combined military capabilities, boost our defense industrial capacity, enhance our ability to deter aggression, and promote our shared goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Austin said AUKUS is a shared, long-term investment enabling the formation of defense advantages that endure for decades.