- [Narrator] This submarine is what experts are calling
the future of underwater defense.
It's a nuclear powered attack sub
that combines next-gen UK design
with classified US technology,
and it's being built in Australia
where it'll be deployed in the 2040s.
- The US doesn't usually share
this type of technology with its allies,
so the fact that Australia's getting it is a massive deal.
- [Narrator] But the future subs,
which are estimated to cost up to $250 billion,
have been criticized by China and Russia,
who say the vessels risk sparking
a nuclear arms race in the Indo-Pacific.
So here's the secret US technology
that will enhance these subs, and how it might be used
to counter China's growing influence.
The SSN-AUKUS is being built
with one key feature in mind, interoperability.
That's the ability for all three nations
to integrate the same technology,
weapons, and nuclear reactors into their subs.
To do this, the US will share
its highly classified nuclear submarine technology,
making the UK and Australia the only two nations
to ever publicly receive these systems.
Australia will also become the seventh country
in the world to own these vessels,
which have greater capabilities
than their current diesel-electric submarines.
- They can go farther, they can generally go faster
and they're quieter as well,
so there's a big capability advantage
in a maritime environment.
- [Narrator] Naval experts say the submarine's design
will likely feature a larger hull
than Australia's current submarines,
housing almost twice as many crew members.
That crew will operate US combat control systems,
which detect the submarine's surroundings
and direct its weapons to their targets.
Alongside US torpedoes,
those weapons will include missiles fired
from vertical launch systems.
Experts say these multipurpose silos will be similar
to the modules used in US Virginia class submarines
(explosion bangs and hisses)
allowing all three nations to use the same US tomahawk
and hypersonic missiles.
- Strapping a American missile into an Australian submarine
and having it work absolutely seamlessly
would be a great advantage in any military conflict.
- [Narrator] All of these weapons will be conventional,
as Australia doesn't have nuclear weapons.
That means building the nuclear reactors needed
to power these subs on its own shores could violate
the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The treaty limits the transfer and use
of highly enriched uranium to non-nuclear weapon states,
so Australia will use what critics have called a loophole
for the first time in the treaty's history.
The power units will instead be built in the UK
by Rolls Royce and enhanced with US technology
to make them safer and quieter.
They'll then be completely sealed
before being shipped to Australia.
This arrangement has sparked concerns from campaigners
who want to stop the spread of nuclear weapons,
and drawn criticism from China and Russia.
(speaking in foreign language)
- China has said this could lead
to an arms race in the region.
Obviously the US and Australia deny those claims,
but Russia and China do not like this deal at all.
- [Narrator] That's because of tensions in the Indo-Pacific,
where the AUKUS Alliance says these subs will be deployed.
Experts say choke points, including the Sunda Strait
and Taiwan Strait, as well as the South China Sea,
are the primary zones of interest for these subs.
- The way that the US is seeking to counter China
in the region is that they're trying to build up
the capabilities of their allies,
and this is one of the ways that the US is doing that.
- [Narrator] But critics say
that all this advanced technology could be obsolete
by the time the SSN-AUKUS is actually deployed.
Experts have pointed to the rapid development of UUVs,
or unmanned underwater vehicles,
as both a challenge to the importance of submarines
and an opportunity for their continued relevance.
- You might have one-man submarines sort of controlling
a fleet of underwater drones,
but when you're looking at such a big timeframe,
20 years in the future,
it's unclear how much of a need there will be.
- [Narrator] That uncertainty
and the significant price tag attached to these vessels
has raised the eyebrows of critics,
but experts say the high cost shows how important
a stronger presence in the Indo-Pacific is
for the AUKUS Alliance.
- There is a growing recognition
that the US cannot do this alone,
China's been pouring a lot of money and time
into its military buildup, and to keep pace with China,
the US is going to have to seek help from its allies
and Australia really is
one of its biggest allies in the region.