US to review AUKUS submarine partnership
An artist’s impression of the AUKUS SSN submarine. (Image: BAE Systems)
The Australia, UK and US (AUKUS) trilateral agreement consists of two pillars. The first pillar involves Australia’s procurement of nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) and the second pillar involves bring defence industry and research bases closer together through high-technology development programmes. It is the former which is under re-evaluation.
The US Government has announced a review of the AUKUS trilateral partnership and Australian commentators fear this could be the precursor to US cancellation of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) plan to acquire Virginia-class submarines from the US.
The review, to take just 30 days, will be carried out by Elbridge Colby, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, who is a critic of the plan to sell three, and possibly as many as five, Virginia-class boats to Australia under AUKUS Pillar 1.
He remains a supporter of AUKUS Pillar 2 which aims to bring the three countries’ defence industry and research
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