Australia boosts AUKUS submarine funding with $3.2 bn investment

Australia announced an additional US$3.2 billion (AU$4.6 billion) for its nuclear‑powered submarine program under the AUKUS defence pact with the United States and the United Kingdom. The money will fund new infrastructure, training and expansion of the Osborne shipyard in South Australia, increasing the yard’s size ten‑fold and bringing total spend on the site to about US$8.5 billion. The project is expected to create up to 10,000 jobs, with roughly 1,100 workers already on site. Defence Minister Richard Marles said the investment shows AUKUS is “on track and happening now.” Under the 2021 agreement, Australia will receive three US‑built nuclear submarines and later co‑develop a new class with the UK in the 2040s, an arrangement projected to cost up to US$250 billion over 30 years.