AUSTRALIA SELECTS BAE SYSTEMS AND ASC TO BUILD SOVEREIGN NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINES

The Australian Government has selected BAE Systems and ASC Pty Ltd to build Australia's new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines in the latest significant development in the AUKUS trilateral security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Under the AUKUS agreement, Australia and the UK will operate a common submarine of the future, incorporating technology from all three nations, based on the UK’s next-generation design which BAE Systems is leading.

BAE Systems and ASC Pty Ltd will now bring together their complementary skills, expertise and capabilities under a collaborative arrangement in Australia, ultimately leading to the establishment of a long-term, incorporated Joint Venture.

SSN-AUKUS will be the largest, most powerful and advanced attack submarines the Royal Navy has ever operated and will start to replace the Astute class, which BAE Systems is building at its site in Barrow-in-Furness in the North West of England, from the late 2030s. Australia expects to deliver its first SSN-AUKUS submarine in the early 2040s.