The Prime Minister has made waves with the US and Australia with the new nuclear submarine deal (Picture: Reuters; Getty; PA)
Rishi Sunak has signed off on a new generation of nuclear-powered submarines on his first visit to the US since becoming Prime Minister.
He called the trilateral Australia, UK, and US (Aukus) submarine deal the most significant multilateral defence partnership in generations’ and praised the ‘world-leading’ British designs.
Speaking in San Diego as part of a joint statement from the leaders of the UK, US and Australia he said: ‘Aukus matches our enduring commitment to freedom and democracy with the most advanced military, scientific and technological capability.
‘Nowhere is that clearer than in the plans we’re unveiling today for the new Aukus submarine, one of the most advanced nuclear-powered subs the world has ever known.’
Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden, and Rishi Sunak struck the deal in the US today (Picture: AP)
The Prime Minister took part in the meeting at the Navy Gateway Inns and Suites, in San Diego earlier today (Picture: REUTERS)
Under the deal, the US intends to sell Australia three U.S. Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines in the early 2030s, with an option to buy two more if needed.
The statement from the leaders said the project would culminate with British and Australian production and operation of a new class of submarine.
The SSN-AUKUS would be a ‘trilaterally developed’ ship based on Britain’s next-generation design that would be built in Britain and Australia and include ‘cutting edge’ U.S. tech.
An Australian defence official said the project would cost £201 billion by 2055.
Biden stressed that the submarines would be nuclear-powered, not nuclear armed: ‘These boats will not have nuclear weapons of any kind on them,’ he said.
Britain will take delivery of its first SSN-AUKUS submarine in the late 2030s, and Australia would receive its first in the early 2040s, Albanese and the British statement said.
The vessels will be built by BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, the British statement said.
The agreement will also see U.S. and British submarines deployed in Western Australia to help train Australian crews and bolster deterrence.
The United States and Britain would begin these rotational deployments as soon as 2027, the joint statement said.
Mr Sunak said the plans to build the vessels could ‘not happen without cutting-edge American technology and expertise.’
The Conservative Party leader said the deal would ‘create thousands of good, well-paid jobs in places like Barrow and Derby’.
Mr Sunak said the new submarines would include ‘world leading’ British designs (Picture: Reuters)
It is the first time that Rishi has visited the US since becoming Prime Minister (Picture: Getty)
The SSN-AUKUS submarine will come into operation in the late 2030s (Picture: PA)
Calling the agreement a ‘powerful partnership’, he added ‘For the first time ever, it will mean three fleets of submarines working together across both the Atlantic and Pacific, keeping our oceans free, open, and prosperous for decades to come.’
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said he was ‘proud to partner’ with the UK to ‘construct the next generation of submarine’.
He told a press briefing: ‘This will be an Australian-sovereign capability built by Australians, commanded by the Royal Australian Navy and sustained by Australian workers in Australian shipyards with construction to begin this decade,’ he added.
Mr Albanese said the deal marked an ‘opportunity for jobs, skills, research and innovation’ in Adelaide, Australia, as well as Barrow-in-Furness in Britain.
He added: ‘Built by innovation and extraordinary and emerging technologies, these boats will present a unique opportunity for Australian companies to contribute, not only to the construction and sustainment of Australia’s new submarines, but to supply chains in America and in Britain.’