Bloomberg: Britain, Australia to sign deal to build nuclear submarines
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Australia and the United Kingdom plan to sign a multi-billion dollar, 50-year deal to build nuclear submarines as part of the Aukus security partnership. About writes Bloomberg.

The talks will take place during a meeting of the countries' foreign and defense ministers in Sydney on Friday, July 25. The agreement is scheduled to be signed on Saturday, July 26, in the Australian city of Geelong.

The agreement is expected to bring the UK up to £20 billion ($27 billion) in export earnings over the next 25 years.

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According to the agreement, the UK will build up to 12 SSN-Aukus nuclear-powered multi-purpose submarines, which will be used by both the Royal Navy and the Australian Navy.

According to British Defense Secretary John Healey, the agreement is a confirmation of the countries' "strategic commitment to Aukus for the next half century."

Aukus is a defense alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States established in 2021. Its main goal is to strengthen the partners' naval presence in the Indo-Pacific region amid China's growing influence.

The first submarines for Australia are to be of the American Virginia type. They are scheduled to be delivered in the 2030s. And in the early 2040s, Australia and the United Kingdom will begin to jointly build a new generation of SSN-Aukus submarines.

According to the British Foreign Office, more than 21,000 specialists will be working on the submarine construction program in the UK during the peak period.

After the talks on Friday, the two countries' defense and foreign ministers will hold a joint press conference in Sydney.