Submarines

The Australian Navy will use software made in Connecticut to help them train on their new American-made nuclear submarines, as part of the recent AUKUS defense agreement.

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.

Australia will purchase U.S.-manufactured, nuclear-powered attack submarines to modernize its fleet. The submarines, which cost $3 billion each, are built at shipbuilding plants in Virginia and Connecticut.

The newest Virginia-class fast attack submarine, which can dive to depths greater than 800 feet (240 meters), was originally christened in 2019. But the COVID-19 pandemic created some “slips in schedule” for the crew, said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), whose district includes General Dynamics Corp.’s Electric Boat Shipyard where the 377-foot (115-meter) submarine was constructed.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a defense spending bill that could increase the production of Virginia-class submarines by Connecticut-based…