THE AUKUS NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINE PATHWAY: A PARTNERSHIP FOR THE FUTURE

2.1 Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States have joined together through the AUKUS partnership, building on their historic relationships, to support a stable, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

2.2 The first major initiative of the AUKUS partnership is the delivery of a conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) capability for Australia. This will result in Australia having a more capable and potent submarine force, strengthening interoperability among the AUKUS partners, and enhancing our individual and collective ability to deter threats to the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.

2.3 Australia’s acquisition of SSN capabilities will be a complex, multi-decade undertaking. AUKUS partners intend to take a phased approach, informed by a clear-eyed understanding of the gravity, scale and promise of this endeavour, and underpinned by strong commitments by each nation to meet agreed-to readiness thresholds.

2.4 Australia’s future SSNs will be a state-of-the-art platform designed to leverage the best conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine technology from all three nations – referred to as ‘SSN-AUKUS’. SSN-AUKUS will be a trilaterally-developed SSN based on the UK’s next generation design that incorporates technology from all three nations, including cutting edge US submarine technologies. Australia and the UK will both operate SSN-AUKUS. The SSN-AUKUS program will create a stronger, more resilient trilateral industrial base, supporting submarine production and maintenance in all three countries.

2.5 The first SSN-AUKUS for the UK Royal Navy will commence construction in Barrow-in-Furness, UK, as early as the late 2020s and is expected to be operational as early as the late 2030s. Australia will begin building its first SSN-AUKUS in Adelaide, South Australia, by the end of this decade, and is expected to be delivered in the early 2040s.