Uncertainty over the alliance formed by Australia, the UK and US to produce a new breed of attack submarine has been removed with all three partners committing to the partnership.
Earlier this year it was reported the US had commissioned a review of the programme as part of the country’s America first policy.
Following the conclusion of the United States’ AUKUS review, the Ministry of Defence said the partnership is “full steam ahead” for delivery of cutting-edge equipment which will ‘help deter adversaries in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions.’
Defence Secretary John Healey joined his counterparts, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, at the Pentagon to collectively shift the focus of the AUKUS partnership to delivery declaring that business as usual was ‘not an option’.
The three nations have agreed that AUKUS must now move at pace to translate plans into hard capability.
The meeting marked a decisive shift towards delivery for submarine development and turning advanced military technology projects into frontline warfighting capabilities under Pillar II, the second phase of the project.
The MoD says the UK has invested £6 billion in Barrow and Derby that will realise the ability to construct a new AUKUS submarine every 18 months, an ambition the chair of the Team Barrow project group told MP’s last month was ‘a very demanding target.’
SSN-AUKUS will be the most powerful attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy, creating more than 7,000 new jobs across the UK supply chain and backing 21,000 jobs at peak production, making defence an engine for growth and supporting the Government’s Plan for Change.
That benefit is already being felt, with more than 3,000 new jobs across key UK sites for nuclear work have been created since July 2024, with an additional 4,400 construction roles expected to be created over the coming years.
“AUKUS is too significant and the stakes are too high for it to be allowed to drift,” the Defence Secretary said. “Our driving focus now is overcoming any barriers to delivery. And the UK is all in.
“With billions being invested in UK infrastructure, this programme demonstrates defence as an engine for growth – boosting our shared security, keeping our people safe and creating good jobs across our three nations.”
Meanwhile Babcock has announced it has signed a contract with US shipbuilder HII to support the construction of the Virginia-class submarine.
The company says the deal is the first Virginia-class outsourced contract to Babcock in support of Newport News Shipbuilding specific submarine work, authorising Babcock to build submarine assemblies at Rosyth in Scotland, for Virginia-class Block VI fast-attack submarines.
“This is a significant next step in delivering on our joint commitment to enhance both organizations’ capabilities, for the benefit of US and UK programmes,” Chris Kastner, HII president and CEO said. “Leveraging Babcock’s reach and expertise in the U.K. will reinforce our supplier base, strengthen submarine production in the U.S., and support the trilateral AUKUS partnership.”
David Lockwood, CEO Babcock International Group said: “Babcock’s advanced manufacturing expertise has enabled us to build on our established missile tube assembly capability, to deliver additional complex assemblies for the US submarine fleet.
“This expansion of our strategic partnership with HII enables us to optimize our joint capabilities for the benefit of the wider AUKUS security partnership.”
Mr Healey said: “This expanded partnership to deliver for AUKUS submarines announced today demonstrates that the UK is becoming a global leader for advanced marine and submarine engineering.”
