Bipartisan Urge for Trump: Maintain Security Agreement with Australia and the United Kingdom
The U.S. and Australia have forged ahead with their ambitious submarine partnership, AUKUS, despite challenges in the American shipbuilding industry. The U.S. aims to significantly increase its submarine production to meet the demands of the AUKUS pact, as well as its own Navy's needs.
Australia has already made a commitment of $3 billion to uplift the U.S. submarine base, and industry personnel have been sent to train at U.S. shipyards, while naval personnel are undergoing submarine training in the United States. However, the U.S. is currently not capable of quickly building enough nuclear-powered submarines to fully meet the demands of the AUKUS partnership without significant expansion and transformation in its submarine production capacity.
The U.S. Navy and its shipbuilders face major challenges, including supply chain issues, workforce attrition, and infrastructure constraints that limit production rates below what would be needed for AUKUS commitments. To address these issues, the U.S. aims to double submarine production to about 2.3 Virginia-class submarines per year. This would require "transformational improvements" at the two main submarine yards producing Virginia-class subs.
However, current production is impacted by persistent delays and cost overruns. For example, the new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine faces an 18-month delay with staggered deliveries stretching into the 2030s. Virginia-class Block V subs with increased payload capacity are planned through 2043 but have faced schedule pushes and supply chain problems.
The workforce at submarine shipyards is shrinking due to attrition and recruitment challenges, undermining timely submarine delivery rates. Supply chain disruptions further exacerbate delays in construction and maintenance. Infrastructure is being upgraded, such as a $250 million modernization at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor to handle the next generation of more complex submarines, but these efforts are only preparatory steps toward increased capacity that won’t fully materialize until after 2040.
Companies like General Dynamics Electric Boat are expanding physical capacity, e.g., acquiring new facilities, but the Navy still depends heavily on improving processes, outsourcing, and workforce retention to overcome current bottlenecks.
Despite these challenges, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have voiced their support for the AUKUS partnership. Bruce Jones, senior fellow with the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy and Technology, stated that the partnership positions subs in Western Australia, which is crucial to American deterrence and defense options in the Western Pacific.
The U.S. is planning to sell three to five Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, with the first delivery scheduled as soon as 2032. However, the delivery pace is not fast enough to meet the first pillar of AUKUS, according to Admiral Daryl Caudle.
The AUKUS partnership, a security agreement between the U.S., Australia, and the UK, is under review by the Pentagon. The review is being led by Elbridge Colby, the No. 3 Pentagon official. The review comes amid concerns about the American industrial infrastructure's shipbuilding capabilities.
In addition to submarines, the AUKUS partnership aims to co-develop other advanced technologies, including undersea and hypersonic capabilities. The three nations have jointly tested communication capabilities with underwater autonomous systems. Congressional appropriations totaling $10 billion since 2018 have been used to ensure the U.S. will have enough ships for sales to Australia.
Australia is committed to increasing defense spending to support its first nuclear-powered sub program. The Australian ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, stated that the program would provide "massively expensive full maintenance repair facilities" for the U.S. Indo-Pacific fleet based in Western Australia. Jennifer Parker, who has served more than 20 years with the Royal Australian Navy, suggested that the partnership should not be a zero-sum game, as it offers the U.S. access and theater of choice from operating and maintaining submarines in Australia.
Defense policy support for AUKUS is strong and bipartisan, "certainly on the Armed Services Committee," according to Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. The AUKUS pact, signed by the Biden administration in 2018, is a four-year-old agreement aimed at supplying Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.
- The U.S. government is planning to sell three to five Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, as support for the AUKUS partnership extends beyond both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
- To meet the demands of the AUKUS pact and its own Navy's needs, the U.S. aims to double submarine production, requiring "transformational improvements" at its submarine shipyards.
- Australia commits to increasing defense spending to support its first nuclear-powered sub program, offering "massively expensive full maintenance repair facilities" for the U.S. Indo-Pacific fleet based in Western Australia.
- The AUKUS partnership not only focuses on the supply of nuclear-powered submarines but also aims to co-develop other advanced technologies, such as undersea and hypersonic capabilities.
- The AUKUS partnership, a four-year-old agreement, is under review by the Pentagon as concerns emerge about the American industrial infrastructure's shipbuilding capabilities in the face of policy-and-legislation regarding war-and-conflicts, technology, and politics.
