Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Rubio: 'Very short window', maybe days, for Hamas to accept deal
Al Mayadeen correspondent to southern Lebanon: Israeli warplanes launched a raid on the Ksar Zaatar neighborhood in western Nabatieh.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The tower destroyed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza includes media offices, including Al Mayadeen's bureau.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: Four fetuses and three premature babies died at Nasser Medical Complex due to malnutrition
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the town of Burj Qalawieh, south Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The first ship of the Maghreb fleet delivering aid to break the siege on Gaza departs from the port of Gammarth in Tunisia.
Channel 12: Airspace closed at Ramon Airport due to fears of drone infiltration
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded over an aircraft infiltration in the Bir Ora area, and details are being examined
Drone infiltration sirens sound north of the Gulf of Aqaba
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out five extremely violent raids on the western areas of Gaza City

Australia to buy US nuclear-powered submarines in new pact

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 13 Mar 2023 23:13
  • 1 Shares
3 Min Read

Australia will buy as many as five US nuclear-powered submarines.

  • x
  • Australia to buy US nuclear-powered submarines in new pact
    US President Joe Biden meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California, on March 13, 2023. (Reuters)

Australia will buy as many as five US nuclear-powered submarines and later build a new model with US and British technology under a plan to strengthen the AUKUS Western alliance across the Asia-Pacific against rising China, a US official said on Monday.

US President Joe Biden was hosting Australian and British prime ministers Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak on a US naval base in San Diego, California, to announce the plan.

Australia, which joined the newly formed AUKUS group with Washington and London 18 months ago, will not be getting nuclear weapons.

Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, told reporters flying on Air Force One to California that the submarine plan illustrated Washington's long-term commitment to guarding "peace and stability" in the Asia-Pacific region.

The partnership with Australia, which involves sharing secret nuclear technology previously only given to Britain, is "a decades-long, maybe a century-long commitment," Sullivan considered.

Three conventionally armed, nuclear-powered Virginia class vessels will be sold "over the course of the 2030s," with the "possibility of going up to five if that is needed," he indicated.

The new model, also nuclear-powered and carrying conventional weapons, is a longer-term project and will be dubbed the SSN-AUKUS, the US official highlighted. It will be built on the base of a British design, with US technology and "significant investments in all three industrial bases," Sullivan mentioned.

On Monday, Sunak's office said Britain is also moving to beef up its military capabilities. More than $6 billion in additional funding over the next two years will "replenish and bolster vital ammunition stocks, modernize the UK's nuclear enterprise and fund the next phase of the AUKUS submarine program," Downing Street announced.

Related News

US adds Colombia to drug list, drawing Petro’s rebuke

China, US reach framework agreement on TikTok

Australia had previously been on track to replace its aging fleet of diesel-powered submarines with a $66 billion package of French vessels, also conventionally powered.

The announcement by Canberra that it was backing out of that deal and entering the AUKUS project sparked a brief but unusually furious row between all three countries and their close ally France.

Read more: India, Australia working on comprehensive economic accord: New Delhi

Read more: Macron, Sunak to hold talks in Paris

Compared to the Collins-class submarines due to be retired by Australia, the Virginia-class is almost twice as long and carries 132 crew members, not 48.

China warned that AUKUS risked setting off an arms race and accused the three countries of setting back nuclear nonproliferation efforts.

"We urge the US, the UK and Australia to abandon the Cold War mentality and zero-sum games, honor international obligations in good faith and do more things that are conducive to regional peace and stability," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a fiery statement, accusing the United States of leading a Western effort at "all-round containment, encirclement and suppression of China."

Read more: US to increase military presence in Australia, invites Japan

  • United States
  • Britain
  • US
  • Rishi Sunak
  • UK
  • United Kingdom
  • Australia
  • Joe Biden
  • AUKUS
  • Anthony Albanese

Most Read

The damaged building in the Katara neighborhood, Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025 (Social media)

Hamas delegation survives Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar

  • Politics
  • 9 Sep 2025
Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

American far-right activist Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
President Nicolas Maduro gestures to supporters during the inauguration of a monument in China's honor on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, September 3, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Maduro warns of threats, urges 'battle for truth' to defend Venezuela

Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas' political leadership in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
Politics

Netanyahu informed Trump before deadly attack in Doha: Reports

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hold a joint press conference at the Prime Minister's Office, during Rubio's visit, in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, Monday, September 15, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu warns of Israeli isolation, calls to boost self-reliance

Spain axes €700Mln arms deals with 'Israel' over Gaza genocide
Politics

Spain axes €700Mln arms deals with 'Israel' over Gaza genocide

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS