Australia confident about receiving nuclear submarines despite U.S. funding cut
Australia says it is confident the U.S. will provide nuclear-powered submarines promised under the AUKUS deal despite a proposed cut in U.S. funding.
SYDNEY, Australia — Australia is confident the United States will follow through with the sale of nuclear-powered submarines as part of the AUKUS deal, a minister said Wednesday, after mooted cuts to the U.S. program raised concerns the deliveries could be delayed or scrapped.
Under the AUKUS partnership signed in 2021, the U.S. will sell Australia between three and five Virginia-class attack submarines starting in the early 2030s as a stopgap while Australia and Britain build a new SSN-AUKUS class due roughly a decade later.
Fears that long-standing backlogs at U.S. shipyards and a shrinking submarine fleet could undercut willingness for the sales boiled over this week when the Biden administration cut its funding request for the Virginia class.
Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy said Australia had total confidence in the AUKUS deal and that the U.S. was making good progress upgrading its shipyards so they could produce the Virginia class for both navies.
“I see a lot of hyperbolic headlines about the death of AUKUS, I think it’s the fourth time AUKUS has died in the last year,” he told Reuters by phone.
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