Sir Stephen Lovegrove, the former principal UK civil servant, now on a visit to Australia. He recently joined our Public Square podcast to discuss the implications of the new AUKUS agreement deepening defense cooperation between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. His visit comes as AUKUS enters its next crucial phase, making it necessary for all countries involved to move at the “speed of relevance.” The negotiations have focused on the logistical and infrastructural needs to support AUKUS. In particular, they call out the maintenance and servicing requirements of nuclear-powered submarines.
Now the Australian government is committing more than $120 million to upgrade the Henderson shipyard. This reconfiguration will allow the facility to accommodate maintenance for nuclear-powered submarines. Sir Lovegrove’s review of the AUKUS pact has not been released publicly to date. He stressed that UK’s commitment to AUKUS is “as strong as ever.” This partnership represents one of the largest investments by all three countries. Included in the AUKUS agreement, Australia is investing billions into the U.S. submarine industrial base.
Sir Richard Spencer, the previous U.S. Navy Secretary, echoed the urgent call to modernize infrastructure like HMAS Stirling and Henderson shipyard. He emphasized that these upgrades need to be done by 2027. He told us that being able to act in a timely manner was key to not missing operational milestones.
Urgency for Infrastructure Development
Sir Lovegrove is going to be spending time at the Henderson shipyard. He says he intends to evaluate its readiness for the challenges that AUKUS brings. To the point, he avoided dogma and made the case for additional investment when that’s what’s called for. He continued, “If that does mean new investment in Henderson, we need to look at that critically.”
Yet, the timeline for AUKUS is razor thin. Beginning in 2027, U.S. and UK submarines will regularly rotate through the HMAS Stirling naval base. This adds urgent fire under Australia to lift its investment in infrastructure at speed and scale.
“We need to start moving dirt, putting the infrastructure in, because 2027 is going to be here within the blink of an eye,” – Richard Spencer
AUKUS is meant to fill the gap of not having enough of our current Virginia-class submarines. Sir Lovegrove acknowledged that this objective is key to making the program successful.
Financial Commitments and Strategic Goals
The financial commitments under AUKUS are extensive. Sir Lovegrove has stated the UK plans to put as much as £6 billion, or just under $12.5 billion, into its largest shipyard by the end of the decade. The government will further provide additional funding for key steelworks. He stressed that these investments will further deepen the capacity required to achieve AUKUS’s ambitious strategic objectives.
“And that will give us the extra capacity to be able to hit those kinds of targets.” – Sir Lovegrove
He emphasized that continued collaboration between the U.S. Navy and AUKUS partners is essential for realizing their collective goals.
“The US Navy is right behind it; I speak to them a lot. The State Department is very much behind it and many players in the Defence Department are completely engaged in AUKUS and everything it brings to the US,” – Sir Lovegrove
He emphasized the reciprocal benefits of AUKUS. By adding a submarine maintenance hub in Western Australia, more U.S. Navy boats can remain forward-deployed and active.
Commitment to Collaborative Execution
A key undercurrent of the AUKUS partnership has always been to ensure follow through on the strategic vision. Sir Lovegrove said one of the perennial problems is in actually delivering those plans and meeting deadlines. He assured us of his commitments to meet these deadlines.
“We are on track to hit the kind of timetables that we need to be able to hit and I made a variety of recommendations about the way in which we could improve and speed things up.” – Sir Lovegrove
He underscored the significant contributions that Australia has made. In particular, he emphasized how Western Australia’s role as a maintenance center will allow more Virginia-class submarines to be deployed.
“Clearly one of the things that they’re going to be looking at is whether or not they’re building [the Virginia Class submarines] fast enough… this is a real win-win for all of the nations.” – Sir Lovegrove
