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UK, Australia Sign 50-Year AUKUS Treaty to Expand Submarine Program

Australia, Defense Security Cooperation, Europe, General News, National Security, North America, Policy Updates
July 25, 2025July 25, 2025By Xavier Dolan
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John Healey on the UK-Australia 50-Year AUKUS treaty
John Healey Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street, https://www.flickr.com/photos/number10gov, Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

The United Kingdom and Australia have entered a 50-year bilateral AUKUS treaty that supports a long-term industrial collaboration to build a new class of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines. Announced on Thursday, the pact is projected to generate up to $27 billion in U.K. exports over the next 25 years and create over 7,000 new jobs in British shipyards and across the defense supply chain.

At its peak, the AUKUS submarine initiative is expected to employ over 21,000 people in the U.K. The effort supports the SSN-AUKUS program, which forms the centerpiece of Pillar 1 of the trilateral security pact of the U.K., Australia and the United States. The first pillar is focused on equipping Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines developed to the “highest non-proliferation standards.”

U.K. Secretary of State for Defence John Healey said the AUKUS partnership is one of the nation’s most vital defense arrangements, both for security and economic growth. He called the 50-year treaty with Australia a “historic” confirmation of London’s commitment to submarine collaboration.

“Through the treaty, we are supporting high-skilled, well-paid jobs for tens of thousands of people in both the U.K. and Australia, delivering on our Plan for Change today and for the generations to come,” Healey said. “There are people not yet born who will benefit from the jobs secured through this defence deal.”

The treaty builds on recent developments in the SSN-AUKUS program. In November, Australia’s submarine agency signed an agreement with BAE Systems and ASC to begin preparatory work for the submarine construction, which covers workforce development, procurement and early-stage planning. As part of the agreement, ASC and BAE will form a joint venture to serve as the lead industrial partners for the manufacture and sustainment of the submarines in Australia and the U.K.

Earlier this year, U.S. shipbuilder HII was tapped to lead the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification program, which aims to identify and certify Australian companies that will contribute to the AUKUS submarine industrial base.

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