But if we get past that, we have an order of magnitude advancement in terms of naval capability.” “That’s not going to help us this decade which is when all the key risks come to the fore, in terms of Taiwan. ![]() Unlike conventional submarines they can enjoy high speed, long time on station, no need to surface to recharge diesel motors,” he said. “Nuclear submarines are the apex predator of the oceans. “The questions are how long does it take us to get to that point? What are the costs and what are the challenges in terms of personnel and expertise, including for the nuclear element?”īut he said the submarines would secure a fundamental leap in Australia’s under-sea warfare capability. ![]() The Virginia class is expected to be three to five boats, and the subsequent AUKUS boat another five boats, he said. Estimates for the new design put the price at as much as $US6.2 billion.ĭr Davis said acquiring the Virginia for Australia would bring serious logistical and personnel challenges, made more complex when the later British submarine model is added. United States Congressional Research Service research describes the Virginia class as a less expensive and better optimised model for America’s post-Cold War submarine missions.Ī current Virginia class submarine costs about $US3.6 billion ($5.4 billion). The Virginia class is designed to perform a variety of peacetime and wartime missions, including covert intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, covert insertion and recovery operations, covert strikes against land targets, mine warfare, and anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare. The US Navy began making the Virginia class nuclear-powered attack submarine in 1998, operating it alongside ballistic missile submarines, nuclear-powered cruise missile and special operations forces submarines. Production of the current Virginia class is due to finish by sometime around 2033, with the first of the new SSN(X) submarines to begin construction the following year. The Virginia class is built by America’s General Dynamics Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding. “Not only does it give us the SSNs sooner, but it also means the US can expand its production to meet the challenge posed by China.” ![]() “What we will have to do, in order to make this a reality, is contribute to a third production line in the US, because the existing two production lines for the Virginia class cannot keep up with the US Navy’s requirements for SSNs, let alone Australia’s requirements,” he said. The American nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarine costs more than $3.6 billion.Īhead of Tuesday’s expected announcement from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his American and British counterparts, Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Malcolm Davis said the federal government would help fund and develop new naval production capability for nuclear submarine models, known as SSN. The first step in the landmark AUKUS deal with the United States and Britain, the Virginia class will form a stop-gap for Australia’s navy, before a newly designed British submarine, incorporating American technology, is ready for service. ![]() Australia’s deal to acquire as many as five Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines will add the “apex predator of the ocean” to the nation’s naval capability, with the federal government set to contribute to a new production line in the United States.
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