British design to be used for Aukus submarines in 'historic' deal

Britain's design has been chosen for a new fleet of nuclear submarines, as the leaders of the Aukus pact gathered in San Diego yesterday to declare that they would stand "shoulder to shoulder" in the face of Chinese aggression.

- Aubrey Allegretti

The security partnership, which military top brass believe is the most significant for Britain since the US helped it become one of the few nuclear powers in 1958, was hailed by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and his US and Australian counterparts as "historic".

Under the terms of a deal that was 18 months in the making, it was announced yesterday that British submarines would start to be rotated to Australia from as early as 2027 to build its knowledge, workforce and infrastructure in preparation for the new fleet of vessels.

The UK's first new class of Aukus submarines is hoped to be seaworthy by the end of the 2030s, with Australia's submarines delivered in the early 2040s.

In the meantime, Australian military personnel will embed in US and UK submarine bases at greater superiority levels this year to start training, with the US hoping to sell Australia three Virginia class submarines and a further two if needed.