Britain pumps nearly $5 billion into future AUKUS submarine pipeline

LONDON — The British Government has committed nearly £4 billion, or $4.9 billion, to the next phase in the development of nuclear-powered submarines as part of the tri-national AUKUS program with Australia and the United States .

BAE Systems, Babcock Marine and Rolls-Royce received contracts with that combined total sum, with work aimed at developing a nuclear attack submarine for Britain and Australia .

Design, prototyping and purchase of key long-lead items for the first U.K. submarines set for delivery in the late 2030s are covered by the investment, new British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps announced in a speech to the governing Conservative party conference, which opened in Manchester on Oct. 1.

BAE said in a statement that the funding will cover development work up to 2028, enabling the company to begin detailed design and start to procure long-lead items.

Australia announced in March it would partner with the British in designing and building a submarine known as SSN-AUKUS.

The boat will incorporate Australian, British and US technologies.

Primarily, the AUKUS deal, agreed in 2021, covers submarine construction, basing and operation, but a second element of the deal also includes a range of separate high-tech weapons.

The first SSN-AUKUS boats will be built at BAE’s Barrow-in-Furniss, northwest England, yard as a replacement for the Royal Navy’s Astute class attack submarines starting in the late 2030s.

Barrow is currently building the final two of seven Astute boats and has also begun construction on three of what will be a fleet of four Dreadnought-class nuclear missile-equipped submarines.

BAE said that the new contract with the MoD also includes significant infrastructure investment in its Barrow shipyard, investment in the supply chain and recruitment of more than 5,000 people.

The company has been looking at design options to replace the Astute since at least 2018.

Australian-built boats will follow first deliveries to the British, with the first platforms from a site near Adelaide scheduled for handover in the 2040s.

The conventionally armed British and Australian boats will both use nuclear power plants built in the U.K. by Rolls-Royce, although elements of the propulsion system will come from the United States.

Speaking to Conservative Party members, Shapps said: “This multi-billion-pound investment in the AUKUS submarine program will help deliver the long-term, hunter-killer submarine capabilities the U.K. needs to maintain our strategic advantage and secure our leading place in a contested global order.”

Up to five Virginia-class boats are slated for purchase from the U.S., with deliveries in the 2030s allowing the Australians to get to grips with the operation of its first nuclear-powered submarines ahead of delivery of the SSN-AUKUS.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——英国政府已承诺投入近 40 亿英镑（约合 49 亿美元）用于核动力潜艇开发的下一阶段，这是与澳大利亚和美国合作的三国 AUKUS 计划的一部分。

BAE Systems、Babcock Marine 和 Rolls-Royce 获得了总额为 10 ...

英国新任国防大臣格兰特·沙普斯在10月1日于曼彻斯特开幕的执政保守党大会上发表讲话时宣布，这项投资将涵盖英国首批潜艇的关键长周期部件的设计、原型制作和采购，这些潜艇预计将于2030年代末交付。

BAE 在一份声明中表示，这笔资金将用于支付到 2028 年的研发工作，使该公司能够开始详细设计并开始采购长周期部件。

澳大利亚在三月份宣布将与英国合作设计和建造一艘名为 SSN-AUKUS 的潜艇。

这艘船将融合澳大利亚、英国和美国的技术。

2021 年达成的 AUKUS 协议主要涵盖潜艇的建造、基地建设和运营，但该协议的第二个组成部分还包括一系列独立的高科技武器。

首批 SSN-AUKUS 潜艇将在 BAE 位于英格兰西北部巴罗因弗尼斯的造船厂建造，用于取代英国皇家海军的机敏级攻击型潜艇，建造时间从 2030 年代后期开始。

巴罗目前正在建造七艘机敏级潜艇中的最后两艘，并且已经开始建造四艘无畏级核导弹潜艇中的三艘。

BAE表示，与英国国防部签订的新合同还包括对其巴罗造船厂的重大基础设施投资、对供应链的投资以及招聘5000多名员工。

该公司至少从 2018 年起就开始考虑用新机型取代 Astute。

澳大利亚制造的舰艇将率先交付给英国，首批从阿德莱德附近建造的平台计划于 2040 年代交付。

英国和澳大利亚的常规武装舰艇都将使用由英国劳斯莱斯公司制造的核动力装置，尽管推进系统的某些部件将来自美国。

沙普斯在对保守党成员讲话时表示：“这项对 AUKUS 潜艇项目的数十亿英镑投资将有助于英国获得长期猎杀潜艇的能力，以维持我们的战略优势，并在竞争激烈的全球秩序中确保我们的领先地位。”

澳大利亚计划从美国购买多达五艘弗吉尼亚级潜艇，预计将在 2030 年代交付，这将使澳大利亚能够在接收 SSN-AUKUS 之前掌握其首艘核动力潜艇的操作。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。