The Australian Submarine Agency (ASA) came into being on July 1st, 2023, superseding the Nuclear Powered Submarine Task Force (NPSTF) within the Department of Defence. Transforming the NPSTF into the ASA was a key recommendation of Australia’s recent Defence Strategic Review (DSR). Vice Admiral Johnathan Mead, who has led the NPSTF since its inception in 2021, has taken on a new role as the inaugural Director-General of the ASA.
While the NPSTF was part of the Department of Defence the ASA has been established as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity within the Defence portfolio. This means that, like the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), it will report directly to the Minister for Defence rather than through the DoD diarchy of the Chief of Defence (CDF) and Secretary of Defence. Likewise, it will receive its own line of funding in future budgets. The ASA currently has 350 staff drawn from across government and the Australian Defence Force (ADF), however, it’s expected to grow to more than 680 by the end of next year.
Virginia class the Immediate Priority
The formation of the ASA comes as details slowly come to light about how Australia will acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) through AUKUS. During testimony to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee (FADT) in May, VADM Mead revealed that of the three Virginia class SSNs Australia has committed to buying, only one of them will be a new-build vessel. The other two will be transferred directly from the United States Navy (USN) with approximately 20 years of life remaining.
“The first two submarines which will be transferred will be submarines that would be operating with the US Navy. As I mentioned before, they would probably have a life of about 20 years remaining on them. The aim is to acquire a submarine for the Royal Australian Navy which has already conducted its tests and evaluation and which is a proven product. The US will do a maintenance package on that submarine beforehand.”
VADM Johnathan Mead
The requirement for 20 years of service life on Australia’s first Virginias, as well as the class’s expected service life of 33 years, suggests that the two submarines transferred to Australia will have entered service post-2020. Australia expects to receive the first of two second-hand Virginias in 2033 followed by one in 2036. This limits the pool of available submarines to Block III and IV boats with the oldest available being USS Delaware (SSN-791), commissioned in April 2020, and the newest being USS New Jersey (SSN-796) which is scheduled to join the fleet later this year.
Indeed, there is a chance that Australia will receive the USS Hyman G. Rickover, named after the father of the U.S. nuclear navy, in the 2030s.
Number of SSN-AUKUS Submarines Undetermined
During his testimony VADM Mead also revealed that the government has yet to make a firm decision on how many SSN-AUKUS submarines it will build, saying that the final number would be a matter for future governments. While publically the AUKUS partners have implied that Australia will build eight SSN-AUKUS, VADM Mead clarified that the number refers to the total size of the SSN fleet including Virginias, not just SSN-AUKUS.
If media reports that the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will get five, not three, Virginias from the U.S. are correct that could mean that Australia only acquires three SSN-AUKUS submarines at which point domestic build makes little sense. It would also see the RAN operating a mixed fleet of boats with follow on consequences for Australian workforce and industry that will need to support two, very different, classes.
