Australia’s defense minister said recently he hopes the AUKUS agreement will create a “seamless” defense industrial base among the U.S., U.K. and Australia as the first two countries work to help the third acquire nuclear propulsion technology for attack submarines.
In meetings with U.S. officials “we’ve been specifically talking about how we can have our defense industrial bases operate in a more seamless way,” Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Australia Richard Marles told reporters during a Defense Writers Group event on July 14.
Marles visited Washington last week during his first official trip as defense minister for Australia’s new left-leaning Labor government, which took over from the right-leaning Liberal-National Coalition following Federal Parliament elections in May.
Marles said that at the high policy level, he has found an acceptance about wanting to integrate industrial bases with a sense of shared mission.
“There is, though, a lot of work to be done at a more micro level to turn that policy to reality,” Marles said. “I think, you know, we’re mindful of that, I think America is mindful of that as well, that’s the agenda that we’re going to be working with.”
In September, Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. announced the AUKUS partnership to help Australia procure a new class of nuclear-powered attack submarines to replace Canberra’s current fleet of six conventional diesel-electric-powered attack submarines.
Australia’s plan to go nuclear also prompted the country to cancel an earlier agreement to buy 12 new conventionally-powered submarines designed by France’s Naval Group.
In announcing the deal in September, the three allies said they would give themselves 18-months, until March 2023, to work out the details of transferring nuclear propulsion technology to Australia, which does not have a domestic nuclear industry.
Marles said U.S. export control rules have hampered more industrial connections between the countries’ industrial bases in the past.
“We need to see a breaking down of barriers across all three countries, in terms of developing a more seamless industrial base, across the three countries and it would be fair to say that the achievements and aspirations of AUKUS are going to be tied up significantly with our success or not in being able to break down those barriers.”
A version of this story first appeared in Exchange Monitor affiliate publication Defense Daily.
