AUKUS Leaders Mark Third Anniversary Of Alliance

We the leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, mark the third anniversary of AUKUS – an enhanced security partnership that promotes a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable.  We reaffirm our shared commitment to this historic partnership and acknowledge the considerable progress to date.   

Pillar I – Conventionally-Armed, Nuclear-Powered Submarines

In March 2023, our nations announced a pathway to deliver Australia’s conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) capability, while setting the highest non-proliferation standard.    

We are steadily building Australia’s capabilities to steward and operate its own fleet of conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines from the early 2030s.  The United Kingdom and the United States welcomed Australian naval officers and sailors into their submarine training schools and embedded Australian personnel into the UK Ministry of Defence and U.S. naval shipyards.  Our nations have made enormous strides towards the establishment of a rotational presence of U.S. and UK SSNs at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as early as 2027.  Increased visits by U.S. SSNs to Australia have supported steady progress in Australian workforce development, and, in August 2024, Australian personnel demonstrated their progress through participation in the first maintenance activity conducted on a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine in Australia.

We have made significant investments to lift our respective submarine industrial bases.  The United Kingdom has made an initial allocation of nearly £4 billion to continue work on SSN-AUKUS, and £3 billion to expand production capabilities across its Defence Nuclear Enterprise.  The United States decided to invest USD 17.5 billion into its submarine industrial base.  Australia has committed to invest over AUD 30 billion in the Australian defense industrial base and make proportionate contributions to the United Kingdom and the United States to support the production of SSN-AUKUS and to accelerate the delivery of Virginia class submarines respectively.  In March 2024, Australia announced the selection of ASC Pty Ltd and BAE Systems to build SSN-AUKUS and ASC Pty Ltd to sustain Australia’s SSNs.  These respective investments and decisions will deliver thousands of highly skilled jobs across our three nations. 

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