Australia to spend US$8 bn on nuclear sub shipyard facility | News

SYDNEY, Sept 14, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Australia will spend an initial Aus$12 billion (US$8 billion) to upgrade shipyard facilities for a future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, the government said Sunday. The "very significant" investment is to be spent over a decade at a shipbuilding and maintenance precinct in Perth, Western Australia, Defence Minister Richard Marles said. The government is ploughing money into Perth's Henderson Defence Precinct after signing the 2021 AUKUS pact with Britain and the United States to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. Australia, which has no infrastructure to service nuclear-powered submarines, aims to acquire at least three US Virginia-class submarines within 15 years and eventually to manufacture its own subs. "Henderson is a key piece of the...