Australia will buy three Virginia nuclear-powered submarines and begin producing nuclear-powered AUKUS submarines with the UK and the US - a new project worth $245bn

The US Navy base in San Diego, California, has announced the provision of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia to deter China in the region.

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The agreement was signed by members of the AUKUS partnership. These included US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The White House chief stressed that nuclear energy would be used exclusively as fuel. Virginia-class submarines will not carry "any nuclear weapons." Joe Biden did not mention hypersonic weapons. It should be noted that the US itself will start equipping Virginia-class submarines with hypersonic missiles only by the end of this decade.

The United States will sell at least three Virginia-class submarines equipped with nuclear propulsion systems to Australia. They will be manufactured by the U.S. company General Dynamics. In the future, Australia will be able to order two more Virginia nuclear-powered submarines.

The agreement also assumes that Australia and Britain will begin joint production of the new AUKUS class submarines for their own needs. They will be built to a British design using American technology. The first such submarine will be available in the late 2030s and will enter service with the Royal British Navy. Australia will get its first AUKUS submarine in the early 2040s.

The submarines will be built by BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce. By 2055, $245bn will have been invested in the project.

Source: White House