Pacific Perspective:AUKUS Defence Alliance Being Phased-In

On 21 September 2021,the AUKUS Defence Alliance was established by President Joseph R. Biden and then Prime Ministers Boris Johnson of the UK and Scott Morrison of Australia.The Alliance was founded to enhance the collective security of the signatories in the Indo-Pacific Region.It provided for the sharing of nuclear propulsion information with Australia by the UK and the US for the purpose of enabling Australia to procure and operate nuclear powered fast attack submarines;the development of hypersonic and counter-hypersonic technologies;as well as cyber capabilities including Artificial Intelligence;quantum technologies;and additional undersea capabilities.* A major step in the nuclear propulsion sharing activity has been inititiated with the education and graduation of three Royal Australian Navy (RAN) officers from Naval Nuclear Power Training Command and Nuclear Power School in Charleston,South Carolina.They have taken an important step toward becoming qualified to operate naval nuclear reactors on submarines and aircraft carriers.Graduating were RAN officers Lt.Cmdr.James Heydon,Lt.Cmdr.Adam Klyne,and Lt.William Hall.They will continue their education on the Navy's moored training ship,and then in Connecticut more training for qualification as officers aboard Virginia-class nuclear powered fast attack submarines.Australia intends to procure at least three of the Virginia-class submarines,with an option for two more.The Virginia-class submarines will fill the gap left by Australia's retirement of its Collins-class diesel-electric submarines.The US and the UK will also design the SSN(R) nuclear powered fast attack submarine for the RAN.* The Virginia-class submarines are built by a partnership of Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics Electric Boat.* Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII),General Dynamics (GD)