Announced in 2021, AUKUS is Australia's largest-ever defence investment and will see U.S.-commanded Virginia-class submarines based ​in Australia ⁠from 2027, several Virginia submarines sold to Australia from around 2030, and Britain and Australia building a new class of ‌AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the A$3.9 billion as a down payment to deliver the new shipyard in Osborne, a ⁠suburb of Adelaide in South Australia state. "Investing in the submarine construction yard at Osborne is critical to delivering Australia's conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines," Albanese said in a statement. Osborne is where Australia's ASC and Britain's BAE ​Systems will ‌jointly build Australia's fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, the core component of the AUKUS pact. Until that work begins ​later ⁠this decade, the shipyard is where much of the maintenance is performed on the ⁠country's existing Collins-class submarine fleet.

Source: Bangkok Post February 15, 2026 04:08 UTC