Australia To Invest Billions In Nuclear-Powered Submarine Shipyard Over The Next 2 Decades

Australia has announced plans to invest billions of dollars in expanding its key shipyard in Western Australia. The goal is to transform it into a maintenance hub for the country’s future nuclear-powered submarine fleet under the AUKUS defense pact.

The government announced an initial investment of A$127 million ($85 million) over three years to modernize the Henderson shipyard, located near Perth.

The shipyard’s expansion is part of a long-term plan that will increase Australia’s navy shipbuilding activities.

Defence Minister Richard Marles says the modifications will “optimize Australia’s shipbuilding and sustainment industry,” establishing Henderson as a key player in the construction and maintenance of naval vessels, including the nation’s nuclear-powered submarines.

The Henderson facility will not only operate as a hub for nuclear submarine maintenance but also build new landing craft for the Australian Army and new general-purpose frigates for the Navy.

Marles said that the shipyard will help fund a larger A$368 billion ($245.8 billion) defense investment over the next two decades, generating around 10,000 local jobs in the process.

The AUKUS defense agreement, signed in 2021 between Australia, the United States and Britain, is a historic deal that will see Australia acquire up to five nuclear-powered submarines from the United States in the early 2030s.

In addition, Australia and Britain will collaborate on the design, construction, and operation of a new class of submarines, SSN-AUKUS, which is expected to begin a decade later.

The submarines will be nuclear-powered, but will not carry nuclear weapons.

This is the first time since the 1950s that the United States has publicly disclosed its nuclear propulsion technology, which was previously shared only with Britain.

Official estimates suggest that the entire deal, which is crucial for Australia’s defense strategy, will cost up to A$368 billion by 2055.

Reference: Reuters