Australia and the United States announced on Saturday that the nations will “streamline” the AUKUS agreement regarding its purchase of nuclear-powered submarines, which will no longer include any new vessels.
The two nations met at Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue, which brings together top defence officials and experts from about 45 countries.
Under the 2021 AUKUS deal, Australia is expected to receive at least three of so-called “Virginia-class” nuclear-powered submarines from the United States within 15 years.
In a joint statement from Australian deputy prime minister Richard Marles, US Minister for Defence Pete Hegseth, and the UK Secretary for Defence John Healey the trio confirmed the tweak to the submarine agreement.
“The deputy prime minister and secretaries welcomed the proposed approach to streamline Australia’s acquisition of Virginia-class submarines (VCS), simplifying supply chain management, operational and maintenance requirements, and maximising cost efficiencies,” the statement said.
“This approach would enable Australia to acquire three in-service VCS in lieu of a mixture of new and in-service VCS variants.”
