Britain And Australia Sign Ambitious Deal To Build Nuclear Submarines

It will be in effect for 50 years.

Australia and Britain have signed a sweeping treaty to strengthen cooperation in the development and production of nuclear submarines. The pact will last for 50 years, Reuters reported.

The new treaty is a continuation of the AUKUS pact that Australia, Britain and the United States signed in 2021.

The document was signed by Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and British Defense Minister John Gillie in Geelong, Victoria.

The new treaty should provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines over the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.

"The Geelong Treaty will enable full cooperation on the design, construction, operation, support and disposal of our submarines," the statement said.

The treaty is "a commitment for the next 50 years of bilateral defense cooperation between the UK and Australia under AUKUS Tier 1."

It is noted that the bilateral treaty will underpin the two allies' submarine development programs and is expected to guarantee an investment of $27.1 billion in exports over the next 25 years.

What is known about AUKUS

AUKUS is Australia's largest defense project in history and Canberra has pledged to spend A$368 billion over three decades on the program, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the US manufacturing base.

In the first phase, Washington is to sell Australia a batch of Virginia-class submarines. The first are due to arrive in the early 2030s.

Afterward, Britain and Australia will jointly design and build a new model of nuclear-powered submarines called SSN-Aukus, the first of which should be ready in the early 2040s.

At the same time, the Pentagon has launched a review of the pact as the Donald Trump administration seeks to shift more responsibility to allies and ensure that the U.S.'s own fleet of warships is sufficient.

The goal of the review is to ensure that allies contribute more to collective security and that America's defense industrial base can meet domestic needs.

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