Transition to nuclear-powered submarines will be safe and efficient, experts say

During a speech at the company’s nuclear sustainment site in Devonport, British defence contractor Babcock told reporters that its heritage and expertise in nuclear sustainment and decommissioning will ensure the safe and effective transition to a nuclear submarine future for the Royal Australian Navy.

Defence Connect visited the Devonport dockyard and Rosyth shipyard in the UK, where the company supports the Royal Navy with nuclear sustainment, safety, decommissioning and disposal.

Babcock chief corporate affairs officer John Howie said that stringent government regulation and company expertise in nuclear sustainment and decommissioning have received buy-in from environmental groups.

“During the initial consultation process the MOD (Ministry of Defence) ran, even Greenpeace said, ‘Look, we don’t just understand why you don’t just get on with this, we know it’s safe’,” Howie told reporters.

Howie also said that the development of the company’s new 10 Dock site at Devonport was an example of how the company has used decades of experience to navigate the complexities of working in the nuclear environment.

The comments come as Australia continues to identify the best way forward for the development of a domestic nuclear-powered submarine industry. Under the current proposal, Australia will acquire three Virginia Class SSNs, with the option to acquire an additional two units before transitioning to the SSN-AUKUS.

Australia and the United Kingdom are expected to commence construction of the SSN-AUKUS by the end of the 2020s.

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Incorporating technical capabilities from all three member nations, the United Kingdom is projected to accept the first SSN-AUKUS in the 2030s, with Australia scheduled to accept their first ship in the 2040s.

In developing local nuclear-powered capabilities, Australia will leverage expertise from the United Kingdom and the United States which have never experienced a radiological incident while operating over 500 naval nuclear reactors over 60 years.

Speaking on a recent Defence Connect podcast, Babcock Australasia chief executive officer Andrew Cridland explained that Babcock was uniquely poised to assist the Commonwealth in developing a domestic nuclear industry.

“When it comes to nuclear-powered submarines, Babcock has over 50 years of pedigree in the UK. So we’ve got a really deep knowledge about the infrastructure, the skills, the safety and the regulatory environment, all of the things that are needed to support nuclear submarines,” Cridland told Defence Connect.

“In fact, Babcock marine defence work includes everything from sustaining 100 per cent of the Royal Navy’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet to also owning and operating the UK’s only licensed facility for refitting, refuelling and defuelling nuclear submarines.”

With operational expertise across Australia, the US, and the UK, Cridland observed that Babcock is positioned to support the delivery of the joint-AUKUS capability.

“The other thing that perhaps is less well known is that Babcock already plays a role in the US submarine program with some of the work that we do out of the UK, which means that Babcock is already involved in both conventional and nuclear submarines across the three AUKUS nations.”

The comments come as Babcock Australasia, US-shipbuilder HII, and Bechtel signed a memorandum of understanding to support the development of a nuclear-powered submarine industry in Australia, from the construction of infrastructure through to end-of-life.

Babcock oversees the entire Royal Navy nuclear submarine sustainment program while HII, alongside their teaming partner Electric Boat, have built and delivered over 20 Virginia Class submarines. Bechtel oversees the design and delivery of sensitive defence and nuclear infrastructure.

The MOU covers nuclear infrastructure design and build, submarine defuelling and decommissioning, as well as nuclear waste and material management.

Howie pitched the consortium as a world leader in nuclear sustainment.

“It goes back-to-back to why Babcock teamed up with HII and Bechtel, because between us, we are world leaders in nuclear infrastructure.

“There isn’t actually that many people in the world who have the experience at all in nuclear submarine maintenance.

“In most countries, it is done by national governments.

“We probably, between us, and our partners, we know more about nuclear infrastructure than almost anyone else.”

Babcock’s Devonport site is co-located with HM Naval Base Devonport to form the largest naval support site in Western Europe. The base is the home port for all ships in the Royal Navy (RN) amphibious fleet, half of the RN frigate fleet, and a number of RN submarines and survey vessels.