The pathway to Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, under Pillar 1 of the AUKUS partnership, assigns a prominent role to the UK, as the designer and co-builder of the future SSN AUKUS for the British and Australian navies. Britain’s commitment to forward-deploy a nuclear attack submarine (SSN) to Western Australia, from around 2027, has received less attention, but also carries potentially weighty implications for the UK, including its overall deterrence posture. (The Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The Strategist.)
