President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met in Southern California under the defense cooperation framework established in 2021 as AUKUS. The AUKUS partnership gives Australia the opportunity to modernize its forces with nuclear powered submarines that operate much more stealthily than conventionally powered submarines.
At a contract briefing at Point Loma Naval Base in San Diego, the US president confirmed that the naval assets involved in the deal are not equipped with nuclear weapons, but are powered by nuclear power.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the purchase of US submarines as the largest defense investment in his country’s history, and noted that this is the first time in 65 years that the United States has shared its nuclear propulsion technology with another country.
Australian defense investment in US nuclear submarines is a multi-decade program and the total amount, estimated so far, could reach $368 billion. According to experts, the strengthening of the Australian Navy has a tangible geopolitical impact in the competition of Western countries led by the United States with China.
Cover image: Illustration (Photo: MTI/EPA)
