Login
iscover
The Australian government will acquire AUKUS-related training and related training devices in a possible US$2.0 billion foreign military sale approved by the US State Department.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified the US Congress of the possible sale on 1 December.
Australia has requested to buy articles and services in support of the Trilateral AUKUS Pillar I program including training devices, personnel training, planning, support equipment, special tools, training software, publications and technical documentation.
US training of private Australian industry personnel will occur only after it is explicitly authorised by the US Department of State in accordance with US law.
“This proposed sale will advance the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States and Australia,” according to a statement from the DSCA.
“Australia is one of our closest, most trusted, and capable global allies, committed to ensuring peace, security, and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. The US-Australia alliance is critical to US national interests, and the United States has a long history of working with Australia to develop and maintain strong defence capabilities.
“Specifically, the proposed sale will improve Australia’s capability to meet current and future threats by enabling an effective capacity to protect maritime interests and infrastructure in support of its strategic mission. The sale will advance the AUKUS trilateral agreement by providing the equipment to train Royal Australian Navy crews in areas such as submarine navigation, communications, ship control, and other capabilities. Additionally, it will also provide the means to train select Australian civilians and contractors at United States Naval Shipyards.
“This trained workforce will grow Australia’s submarine capability, which is expected to ultimately incorporate technologies from all three AUKUS partner nations. Australia will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and services into its armed forces.”
The principal contractors will be Huntington Ingalls Industries, General Dynamics Electric Boat and Systems Planning Analysis. The proposed sale would require assignment of around 70 US government and contractors to Australia for three years to support in-person training, equipment familiarisation, and on-site engineering and maintenance of simulation and training devices.
Earlier this week, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III at Moffett Field in California to discuss growing defence and security cooperation between the United States and Australia.
The pair discussed defence technology and industrial collaboration, force posture initiatives, and other areas of deepening cooperation. They also discussed shared global security challenges, Ukraine, the Middle East, and the People’s Liberation Army’s operational behaviour in the South and East China Seas.
They also met with their United Kingdom counterpart, Grant Shapps, to discuss the Australia-United Kingdom-United States Security Partnership.
