Trump backs US nuclear submarine deal for Australia

U.S. President Donald Trump guaranteed the country’s commitment to providing nuclear submarines to Australia as part of the AUKUS agreement on sharing nuclear-powered submarine technology with Australia and the United Kingdom, ending uncertainty following a Pentagon review .

Trump joined Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a joint press conference in Washington, D.C., on Monday and affirmed that the submarines pledged to Australia as part of the deal are currently under construction.

“We have it all set with Anthony [Albanese],” Trump told reporters. “We’ve worked on this long and hard and we’re starting that process right now and I think it’s really moving along very rapidly, very well.”

In response to questions, Trump confirmed the process of providing Australia with the submarines is being expedited.

“We are doing that,” he said.

The president’s remarks end months of speculation that pledges to provide Australia with submarines as part of the AUKUS agreement would be scuttled following a review announced unexpectedly by the Pentagon in June.

“The Department is reviewing AUKUS as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous Administration is aligned with the President’s America First agenda,” a Pentagon spokesperson wrote in a statement at the time, in a move that reportedly rattled Australian allies .

Speaking with journalists Monday, Trump gave his assurances that submarine production for Australia is moving forward. He said the agreement would not see any more major reviews.

“There shouldn’t be any more clarifications, because we’re just going now full steam ahead building,” Trump said.

The agreement will see the U.S. deliver three Virginia-class fast-attack submarines to Australia in the 2030s, followed by a new class of five nuclear-attack submarines in the 2040s.

The promised submarines represent a technological jump for the Royal Australian Navy, which currently relies on Collins-class diesel-electric submarines. Australian sailors have been training with the U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program to learn how to maintain and operate nuclear-powered vessels.

Doubts have clouded the future of AUKUS in previous months, not only in light of the Pentagon review but also as U.S. lawmakers have lamented the lagging condition of Navy shipbuilding.

Recent months have seen increased efforts to kickstart the manufacturing process, with the Pentagon awarding a $5 billion contract this summer to speed up ship manufacturing and several landmark investments by South Korea.

Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普保证，作为与澳大利亚和英国共享核动力潜艇技术的 AUKUS 协议的一部分，美国将继续向澳大利亚提供核潜艇，结束了五角大楼审查后的不确定性。

周一，特朗​​普与澳大利亚总理安东尼·阿尔巴尼斯在华盛顿特区举行联合新闻发布会，并确认作为协议的一部分承诺向澳大利亚提供的潜艇目前正在建造中。

特朗普告诉记者：“我们已经和安东尼·阿尔巴尼斯敲定了一切。我们为此努力了很久，现在正式启动了相关程序，我认为进展非常迅速，非常顺利。”

针对相关问题，特朗普证实，向澳大利亚提供潜艇的进程正在加快。

“我们正在这样做，”他说。

总统的讲话结束了数月以来的猜测，即五角大楼在 6 月份意外宣布对奥库斯协议进行审查后，向澳大利亚提供潜艇的承诺将被取消。

“国防部正在审查 AUKUS 项目，以确保这项前任政府的举措与总统的‘美国优先’议程保持一致，”五角大楼发言人当时在一份声明中写道，据报道，此举令澳大利亚盟友感到不安。

周一，特朗​​普在与记者交谈时保证，为澳大利亚建造潜艇的项目正在推进。他表示，该协议不会再进行任何重大审查。

“不应该再有任何澄清了，因为我们现在正全力以赴地推进建设，”特朗普说。

根据协议，美国将在 2030 年代向澳大利亚交付三艘弗吉尼亚级快速攻击潜艇，随后在 2040 年代交付五艘新型核动力攻击潜艇。

这些承诺交付的潜艇对目前主要依赖柯林斯级柴电潜艇的澳大利亚皇家海军而言，代表着一次技术上的飞跃。澳大利亚水兵一直在接受美国海军核动力推进项目的培训，学习如何维护和操作核动力舰艇。

在过去的几个月里，AUKUS 的未来一直笼罩在疑云之中，这不仅是因为五角大楼的审查，还因为美国立法者对海军造船业的滞后状况表示遗憾。

近几个月来，各方加大了启动造船进程的力度，五角大楼今年夏天授予了一份价值 50 亿美元的合同，以加快造船速度，韩国也进行了多项具有里程碑意义的投资。

齐塔·巴林格·弗莱彻曾任《军事史季刊》和《越南》杂志的编辑，以及美国缉毒署的历史学家。她拥有军事史硕士学位（成绩优异）。