U.K. awards $4.8 billion contract for SSN-AUKUS development

The United Kingdom has awarded a contract worth approximately $4.8 billion to three companies for work on SSN-AUKUS -- the future submarine class set to be collaboratively designed and built by the U.K., the United States and Australia under the AUKUS security partnership.

Awarded to contractors BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock, the funding will support the “detailed design and long leads (D2L2) phase” of SSN-AUKUS development, according to a Sunday announcement from the U.K. Defense Ministry.

“Alongside the design development and long-lead procurement, infrastructure at the submarine shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness and the nuclear reactor manufacturing site in Raynesway, Derby will be developed and expanded where needed to meet the requirement of the future submarine build programme,” the announcement states.

Early design work on SSN-AUKUS began in 2021 with manufacturing expected to start “towards the end of the decade,” a separate BAE Systems announcement states. Under the security partnership, delivery of SSN-AUKUS vessels is scheduled to begin in the late 2030s.

BAE Systems, which is currently building the Royal Navy’s nuclear-powered, conventionally armed Astute-class submarines, will also use this funding for infrastructure and supply chain investments and the planned recruitment of over 5,000 people, the company’s notice continues.

While construction of SSN-AUKUS is set to occur first in the U.K. and later in Australia, the U.S. industrial base will contribute technology and expertise to the new submarine design.

U.S. industry has urged Congress to accelerate the pace of AUKUS legislative implementation, especially when it comes to planning for SSN-AUKUS. So far, the bulk of legislative action has focused on the earlier phases of AUKUS, which will see the U.S. transfer of three or more Virginia-class submarines to Australia starting in the early 2030s.

This timeline is a source of contention in Congress, where some GOP lawmakers worry the U.S. submarine industrial base is not strong enough to keep up with this additional demand.

During a September confirmation hearing, acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti said industry is producing only 1.2 Virginia submarines per year, compared to the target rate of 2.2 boats needed to deliver on the AUKUS commitment.