Virginia class submarine vs astute full#

Under the multi-decade AUKUS deal, the partners will build a combined fleet of elite nuclear-powered submarines using technology, labor and funding from all three countries, creating a more formidable force in the Indo-Pacific than any of them could achieve alone.īut the long timeline and huge financial costs – running into the hundreds of billions for Australia alone – pose questions about how far the partners’ plans could stray from their “optimal pathway” in the decades to come as governments, and potentially priorities, change.

Virginia class submarine vs astute full#

“There is already existing collaboration between the Australian submarine forces – I’ve seen it personally and no one questions about who is the decision-maker in terms of how your subs operate.”Ĭourtney said Australian crew will be aboard “Virginia class submarines, but that will be for training purposes, not for operational missions where they are basically saluting US officers”.Īlbanese has repeatedly reassured that Australia will retain full operational control of nuclear submarines acquired under the Aukus pact despite former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull questioning whether they can they be operated and maintained without the support of the US Navy.More than a year after the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia dropped the tightly held news they were combining submarine forces, the trio released more details Monday of their ambitious plan to counter China’s rapid military expansion. “The surface is really a much more risky place and, unfortunately, a diesel or electric which was the prior plan has to exist and operate on the surface.”Ĭourtney said there was “bipartisan” support for Aukus in congress, insisting he wanted to “foot-stomp” concerns “about who is in charge and who makes the decisions”.

We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. For more information see our Privacy Policy. Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. “China’s missile force is really, in my opinion, the real reason that is driving this decision because surface ships right now are so vulnerable and we saw it in Ukraine where two relatively crude short-range missiles took down the flagship of the Russian navy.” skip past newsletter promotion “No one is going to be foisting off clunkers on good friends and allies.” “The shelf life of a Virginia class submarine is 33 years and it has life-of-boat nuclear reactor, it doesn’t require refuelling.” “Right now we realise we’re going to have to do some more outsourcing … in terms of Australia possibly being a contributor, whether it’s steel fabrication, parts and components.”Īsked if Australia is more likely to get new or used Virginia class submarines, Courtney said “when it comes out you’ll see” but assured Australia that “what you will get is of the highest quality”.

“We don’t have to do this tonight, we’ve really got some runway to stand up these programs and I think it’s going to be a transformational enterprise for working people in Australia,” Courtney told ABC’s Insiders.Ĭourtney also rejected the view expressed by the Democratic senator Jack Reed, chair of the US Senate armed services committee, and the former Republican senator James Inhofe, that the purchase of submarines was a “zero-sum game”.Ĭourtney said he was confident Virginia class submarines could be delivered, citing the fact the US submarine production had “grown and contracted” over decades and had delivered four attack submarines a year and ballistic submarines during the cold war. Late in 2022 two top US senators warned the Biden administration not to sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia because it would diminish US national security given the vessels are “scarce”.īut Courtney said that the US had built 21 Virginia class submarines over two decades, with two more to be built this year, and an increased “production cadence” as the program was “back on track” after a slowdown during Covid.