Australia will invest an initial 12 billion Australian dollars ($8 billion) to upgrade shipyard facilities in Perth, Western Australia, as part of preparations for its future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, the government announced Sunday.
The investment, spread over the next decade, will transform the Henderson Defense Precinct into a hub for nuclear submarine construction and maintenance. The project follows the 2021 AUKUS pact with the United States and Britain, which commits Australia to field nuclear-powered submarines for the first time.
Australia plans to acquire at least three US-built Virginia-class submarines within 15 years and eventually produce its own submarines domestically. The shipyard expansion is part of a broader military overhaul aimed at boosting long-range strike capabilities in response to China’s expanding presence in the Pacific.
This comes alongside other major defense upgrades. In August, Canberra confirmed it would purchase 11 Mogami-class frigates from Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries under a 10 billion Australian dollar deal, with the first three vessels built abroad and the remainder in Western Australia.
Additionally, the government recently announced a $1.7 billion program to deploy a fleet of “Ghost Shark” underwater drones, expected to enter service from January.
Despite these efforts, the AUKUS submarine program remains under scrutiny, with projected costs reaching up to $235 billion over 30 years, making it one of Australia’s largest defense undertakings.
