Anthony Albanese,Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak at the AUKUS announcement in San Diego in March.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Reed’s letter,co-authored with Republican Senate colleague James Inhofe,was the first time members of Congress had expressed serious misgivings about the agreement,and explicitly warned against any plan to sell or transfer Virginia-class submarines to Australia before the US Navy met its current requirements.
Asked on Monday (Tuesday morning AEST) if his concerns had been alleviated,Reed,who chairs the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee,said that while US shipyards had made some progress in recruiting workers and boosting production lines,it would be “a long,long process” to ensure the industry could keep pace with demand.
“One of the stumbling blocks – and this is not exclusive for any type of military program – is just the shortage of skilled workers. That has been a significant impediment to staying on schedule and staying on time,” he said.
“I’m beginning to hear that there is more progress in the yards in terms of attracting workers and the efficiency of production,but we can’t be content or satisfied until we get back to two attack submarines a year and see the successful completion on time and on budget of Columbia (the upcoming class of nuclear submarines designed to replace the US Navy’s ageing Ohio-class).”
America’s ability to build submarines as efficiently as possible has flow-on effects for AUKUS,which is a trilateral agreement between Australia,the UK and the US to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines in a bid to counter China’s economic and military advances in the Indo-Pacific.
Under the strategy,Australia will buy at least three Virginia-class submarines from the US while building up the capacity to develop its own locally made nuclear-powered subs,some time in the 2040s.