Pentagon mulls scrapping Aukus submarine deal with Australia, Britain

By Tony Capaccio and Ben Westcott

 

The Pentagon has launched a review of the Biden-era Aukus pact to develop nuclear-powered submarines with Australia and the UK, as the Trump administration looks to shift the burden for collective defense to allies and make sure the US has enough warships of its own.

 

The review will study whether the deal, signed by President Joe Biden’s team in 2021, is “aligned with the President’s America First agenda,” the Pentagon said in a statement. 

 

“As Secretary Hegseth has made clear, this means ensuring the highest readiness of our servicemembers, that allies step up fully to do their part for collective defense, and that the defense industrial base is meeting our needs,” it said. 

 

A spokesperson for Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that Canberra and London had both been informed that a review was going to take place.

 

“It is natural that the administration would want to examine this major undertaking including progress and delivery, just as the UK government recently concluded an Aukus review and affirmed its support,” the spokesperson said.

 

The spokesperson said that Australia’s engagement with the US had shown “clear and consistent support for Aukus.”

 

Australia signed the Aukus security partnership with the US and UK in September 2021, part of a pivot by Washington and London to strengthen their presence in the Indo-Pacific region as China’s military power grows.

 

The deal called for the US to sell Australia as many as five of its Virginia-class submarines and then, farther into the future, for Canberra and London to deliver a next-generation submarine — to be dubbed the SSN Aukus — together. 

 

But US submarine production has been plagued by delays and cost overruns, and some Trump administration officials have questioned the wisdom of the program. Last year, a top US lawmaker revealed that the new Virginia-class submarine is two years behind schedule and is projected to run $17 billion over the planned budget through 2030.

 

Skeptics include Defense Undersecretary for Policy Elbridge Colby. Last year, he posted to social media that “it would be crazy to have fewer SSNs in the right place and time,” using the shorthand for nuclear-powered attack submarine.

 

Any major revisions or even scrapping of the Aukus pact would deal a major blow to Australia’s defense sector, which had already begun to reshape in order to accommodate the anticipated submarines.  

 

Marles, who is also Australia’s deputy prime minister, earlier this year delivered a A$500 million ($325 million) downpayment to the US administration as part of the Aukus agreement.