Connecticut-based submarine maker Electric Boat praised President Biden’s announcement Monday that the U.S. will sell at least three Virginia Class nuclear submarines to the Australian Navy.
The AUKUS agreement will also have U.S. defense manufacturers work with the UK to design and build their SSN AUKUS submarine fleet with U.S. technologies. Australia has committed initial investment of $3 billion — with $1 billion going to the UK and $2 billion to the US.
“With the support and approval of Congress, beginning in the early 2030s, the United States will sell three Virginia Class submarines to Australia with the potential to sell up to two more if needed,” Biden said, “jump starting their undersea capability a decade earlier than many predicted.”
At Point Loma Submarine Base in San Diego, California, Biden announced the military defense agreement on Monday between the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom. He pointed behind him to the U.S.S. Missouri submarine, which was built two decades ago by Electric Boat’s facility in Groton.
Biden called it a “vanguard of U.S. naval power.”
Electric Boat said in a statement that the company looks forward to assisting the Australian Navy with achieving nuclear power.
“We look forward to working with the Navy and our industry partners to use our knowledge and expertise to support Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines and the development of that country’s shipbuilding infrastructure,” said Kevin Graney, president of Electric Boat. “The AUKUS agreement underscores the critical role submarines play in the defense of our nation and our allies and calls attention to the importance of continuing to grow our submarine industrial base here in the United States.”
However, Biden’s announcement did not detail Electric Boat’s involvement in the AUKUS deal or any timelines for when the Australian submarines would be built.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) called the nuclear submarine agreement a major win for the nation — but also for the state of Connecticut. He said the Virginia Class submarines should be built locally.
“In order to meet our own US Navy requirements, as well as to fill an order like this, there’s no question that we are going to have to continue the process of expanding capacity, workforce supply chain facility, which is already happening right now,” he said.
"We’re going to see a lot of Australians in Connecticut over the coming years," Courtney joked.
Electric Boat has already started to upscale in anticipation of more federal contracts. The company has received billions in federal funding for submarines in recent years. It has also hired 3,900 new staff last year, and Graney said last month that Electric Boat is expected to add 5,000 more employees in 2023.
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said in a statement AUKUS agreement more than justifies Electric Boat’s plans to hire almost 30,000 high-skilled jobs in the next five years.
“This is a once in a generation undertaking that will fuel tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and bring economic stability to Groton for years to come,” said Murphy, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and the Foreign Relations Committee.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said their workers and Navy have begun training already for their move to nuclear power.
“Australians are upskilling on nuclear technology and stewardship alongside their British and American counterparts,” Albanese said. “Already today, there are Australian submariners undergoing nuclear power training in the United States and I’m proud to confirm to Mr. President that they are all in the top 30% of their class.”
