According to news.com.au, the US is adapting its submarines to suit its specific needs, not those of Australia. This information emerged after the Congressional Research Service recently published a report on the Navy's procurement of Virginia-class SSNs. The report highlighted unresolved questions from the US, most notably whether it can meet its own and Australia's submarine needs, as well as the risks involved in providing Canberra with this technology.
SSN class Virginia
The US is concerned about declining military strength.
The report states that selling 3-5 Virginia-class SSNs to Australia would reduce the size of the US Navy's submarine fleet. The current number of 49 will decrease to 46 by 2028. Meanwhile, existing production programs will only raise this number to 60 by 2052, still falling short of the US goal of maintaining a minimum of 66 SSNs, according to news.com.au.
Therefore, there were doubts that the agreement would weaken the US's ability to counter China. Reports indicated that the US was also concerned that it would "completely lose" the submarines being transferred to Australia if Canberra did not support the US in potential conflicts. This speculation arose after Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said in March that his country had "absolutely not" promised to support the US, when asked about Taiwan.
Furthermore, analysts warn that the conflict in Ukraine could lead Russia to exchange more military technology, especially in the submarine sector, with China, posing a greater challenge to the US. While this could be addressed by increasing the number of submarines produced annually, reports indicate no additional orders have been placed. The US only has two shipyards capable of building SSNs.
President Biden praised the trilateral AUKUS agreement that gives Australia nuclear submarines.
Many issues arise for Australia.
One issue for Australia is financing. It is expected that the country will have to spend more money to purchase Virginia-class SSNs from the US, as Washington is moving towards producing a larger version of the submarine. While this ensures the submarines can carry more Tomahawk cruise missiles or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), it also increases their cost.
AUKUS successfully tests AI UAV.
Recently, the American military news website Defense News reported that AUKUS has successfully tested its first AI-powered UAV. Although the test was conducted on April 28th, it was not publicly announced until May 26th. This is part of AUKUS's project to accelerate the collaborative development of key technologies such as AI and their application in the military field.
According to the UK Ministry of Defence , the trial allows AUKUS partners to collaborate to advance a shared understanding of AI to ensure security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
Australia could offset these costs by leasing additional bases to the US and UK. However, the US Navy has recently proposed other improvements to the Virginia-class SSNs, optimizing underwater sabotage operations against infrastructure such as submarine cables, and reducing their offensive role – a feature that Australia wants.
Furthermore, Australia itself is facing a manpower shortage. According to The Strategist, unless Australia can develop a highly skilled workforce, it will struggle to achieve the advanced defense capabilities outlined in the AUKUS (US-UK-Australia) treaty. Therefore, to support AUKUS and maintain its technological prowess, Australia needs to encourage and retain talent amidst a global labor shortage.
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