From a strategic perspective, given that these three countries are members of the Five Eyes group (an intelligence alliance consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand), these areas are not new. to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.” The US, UK, and Australian governments intend to focus on three areas of strategic importance: (1) information and technology sharing (2) the integration of security and defense-related science, technology, industrial bases, and supply chains and (3) cooperation on a range of security and defense capabilities. AUKUS PartnershipĪs articulated in the Joint Leaders Statement on AUKUS, the AUKUS Partnership is the first part of a broader effort designed to “deepen diplomatic, security, and defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. Fast forward to 2021, and the changing geopolitical environment resulted in a reassessment of this approach and the execution of an enhanced trilateral security partnership termed the “AUKUS Partnership” on September 15, 2021. The assessment was short-lived, however the Australian Navy decided to move forward with conventionally powered submarines in 2009. This assessment likely took into account the extent to and the manner in which the geopolitical environment in the Indo-Pacific had changed in the then-recent past and sought understand how those changes would affect the region’s stability in the future as well as balance these sensitivities with the practical implications of seeking conventional or nuclear-powered submarines. In 2007, the Royal Australian Navy embarked on a project to replace its six conventional Collins Class submarines, and began to assess whether those replacements should be conventional or nuclear powered. Although many nations presently operate conventional submarines, only the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (the United Kingdom, United States, China, Russia, and France) and India operate nuclear submarines. Several export authorizations have been issued by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls to support the exchange of nuclear technology and hardware between the United Kingdom and the United States. To date, the United States has only shared nuclear submarine technology with the United Kingdom. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over conventional submarines, including their ability to operate submerged for extended periods without the need to surface, thus limiting opportunities for detection. The strategic value of these “conventional” submarines was, however, limited by their range, which was determined by the volume of diesel fuel that could be stored onboard and the ability to refuel underway.īeginning in the mid-1940s, the US and UK navies began to design nuclear propulsion plants, and the world’s first nuclear-powered ship-the submarine USS Nautilus-was commissioned in September 1954. Backgroundĭuring World War I and II, submarines were propelled by diesel engines on the surface and by battery when submerged. Nonetheless, implementation of the agreement and moving towards Australian access to nuclear submarines and technology require management of a host of legal and practical considerations. The new Security Agreement builds on decades of national security–related collaboration among the three nations, and may prove to become one of the largest defense partnerships in decades. The current regulatory framework tightly manages access even among US citizens, as the mission-critical relevance of nuclear propulsion technology has far-reaching consequences. Historically, the United States has shared the technology only with the United Kingdom, initially as a direct result of the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957. Naval nuclear propulsion technology is extremely sensitive, as reflected not only in the manner in which the technology is regulated, but also in relation to the parties with whom the United States has shared such technology in the past. Government and commercial activities pursuant to this agreement (Security Agreement) will result in significant business opportunities for many, but navigating and balancing the associated legal requirements may be a challenge. It also highlights the United States’ willingness to shift from its initial posture regarding naval nuclear propulsion technology, opting instead to begin sharing technology that benefits a number of interests within a band of allies. This cooperative engagement reflects, in part, the ongoing pivot to and importance of the Indo-Pacific region as well as the critical need for resources and assets to counter anticipated challenges in the area. The United States, United Kingdom, and Australia have signed a historic agreement that will allow Australia to operate-and potentially construct-nuclear-powered submarines.
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