The arrival of a hunter-killer vessel in Perth offers Britain a chance to push its case to build similar submarines under the Aukus deal
Source - Daily Telegraph - 29/10/21
A Royal Navy submarine has visited Australia as Britain pitches to gazump the US and build Canberra a new underwater fleet to counter China in the Pacific.
HMS Astute docked in Perth only weeks after Britain and America signed ai security pact with Australia that would see the Asian-Pacific country purchase eight nuclear-powered submarines.
The arrival of the 16,000 tonne hunter-killer vessel offers Britain a chance to push its case to build similar submarines against stiff American competition, analysts have said.
Ben Wallace, Defence Secretary, said Australia was at the heart of Britain's tilt to project more military power in the Pacific and the two navies “have enjoyed a close and mutually beneficial relationship for over a hundred years”.
The head of the Australian navy said the visit was “timely”. It marks the first time in a decade a British nuclear-powered submarine has docked in the country.
Britain using nuclear submarines 'pit-stop' in Australia to press case to build vessels for Canberra instead of US
The visit by the Astute-class submarine comes after it has been part of a task group with the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth sailing through the Indo-Pacific.
Defence analysts have said they expect the Royal Navy to show off the vessel and take Australian officers and sailors out to sea. HMS Astute may also take part in exercises with an Australian Collins-class submarine.
Peter Jennings, from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said: If they had one in the region, getting it out here would be an obvious thing to do to promote British industry. Knowing the Brits, they won't miss an opportunity to get out there and do some marketing."
Mr Wallace said earlier this month that Britain was in a strong position to build Australia's new nuclear-powered submarines.
“I am very confident that British engineering, British skills, Australian nous, will deliver a very good submarine,” he said.
The announcement of the new pact last month caused fury in Paris after Australia tore up a defence contract with France, in favour of the new submarine alliance with the UK and US.
With France out of the picture, the Australians face a choice of a new submarine fleet based on Britain's Astute class boats, or based on America's Virginia class.
Both are considered among the best attack submarines in the world and the Australian government has begun an 18-month study to choose between them.
The Royal Navy says the Astute class submarines are the largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines the service has ever operated and combine “world-leading sensors, design and weaponry in a versatile vessel”. The boats are armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and Spearfish heavy torpedoes.
Comparisons have described the Virginia class as able to carry more weaponry, but bigger, slower and more expensive.
Australian newspapers have said the US boat is considered the frontrunner because Australia's military already uses large quantities of American equipment and it would need fewer costly changes to fit in.
Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, has said he wants the country's new fleet to be assembled in south Australia and the first boat should be in the water by 2040.
But the country lacks nuclear expertise and is expected to have to rely heavily on American or British engineers when both countries' submarine industries are already straining to fulfil their own domestic orders.
Aukus will also see the allies share knowledge on cyber information, artificial intelligence, undersea technology and other cutting-edge sciences.
The pact is widely seen as a key part of America's refocus on the Pacific, where China has in recent years dramatically enlarged its navy. Beijing attacked the agreement as representing an "outdated Cold War mentality" that would trigger an arms race in the region.
Britain using nuclear submarines 'pit-stop' in Australia to press case to build vessels for Canberra instead of US
Peter Dutton, Australia's defence minister, said after HMS Astute arrived: ““We look forward to continued work together over the coming decades as we work together in the pursuit of a secure, stable and prosperous region.”
“We are bound by our deep commitment to preserving a rules-based global order in the maritime domain, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, and look forward to further strengthening our strategic partnership into the future.”
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