Britain and Australia agree on 50-year cooperation in nuclear submarine construction
The UK and Australia have formally agreed on a 50-year strategic partnership under the AUKUS defense partnership, focusing on the development and construction of nuclear-powered submarines. The agreement was signed by Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and his British counterpart John Geely. This is reported Reuters.
The AUKUS joint initiative, launched in 2021 by Australia, Great Britain and the United States, is designed to provide Canberra with a fleet of nuclear submarines as early as the next decade. The main goal is to strengthen defense capabilities against the backdrop of China’s increasingly active military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
The statement states that this agreement provides for comprehensive cooperation between the countries in the field of design, construction, operation, maintenance and, later, disposal of nuclear submarines of the SSN-AUKUS model.
The signed document lays the legal and institutional basis for the implementation of the submarine fleet programs of both states. The UK is expected to generate up to £20 billion in export earnings over the next 25 years.
For Australia, the AUKUS project has become the largest defense initiative in history. Canberra plans to invest A$368 billion in it over the next three decades.
