Australia confident about receiving nuclear submarines even though US funding request cut

SYDNEY: Australia is confident the US will follow through with the sale of nuclear-powered submarines as part of the AUKUS deal, a minister said on Wednesday, after mooted cuts to the US programme sparked concerns the deliveries could be delayed or scrapped.

Under the AUKUS partnership signed in 2021, the United States will sell Australia between three and five Virginia-class attack submarines from the early 2030s as a stopgap while Australia and Britain build a new SSN-AUKUS class due roughly a decade later.

Fears that long-standing backlogs at US shipyards and a shrinking submarine fleet could undercut willingness for the sales boiled over this week when the Biden administration cut its funding request for the Virginia class.