![]() "This may compel Beijing to seek to minimize the risks of detectability and trackability of its submarines," Koh told Insider. Delays on sub repairs are also challenging the US Navy's ability to keep subs in the water.īut additional British, and eventually Australian, submarines in the region can ease the burden of tracking China's increasingly active sub fleet, a task that now falls largely on US submarines. Australia will have to develop the institutional knowledge and facilities to maintain nuclear-powered subs, which it has never done, and its future sub orders may further tax US shipyards, which are straining to deliver subs ordered by the US Navy. The head of US Strategic Command, which oversees US nuclear forces, told lawmakers this spring that those Jin-class subs were being armed with new, third-generation JL-3 ballistic missiles that can reach the US from the South China Sea, a first for Chinese subs.ĪUKUS's ambitions for increasing the number of submarines in the Indian and Pacific oceans still face hurdles. The Defense Department report also said China's six operational Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile subs were likely already conducting "near-continuous at-sea deterrence patrols," a sign that China's submarine force continues to improve its operational capabilities. ![]() Its newest Yuan-class diesel-electric subs are quiet, have more advanced sonars, and "might be actually pretty good at anti-submarine warfare," said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute. Nonetheless, China's undersea force has made notable developments. Ray Mabus, then the US Navy secretary, departs a Chinese Yuan-class submarine in Ningbo in November 2012. As soon as 2027, those navies will begin basing attack submarines - one British and as many as four from the US - at HMAS Stirling, an Australian navy base near the city of Perth on the Indian Ocean coast.ĭesignated Submarine Rotational Forces - West, the subs will rotate through HMAS Stirling, rather than being permanently assigned, and officials say their presence will help develop Australia's capacity and capability to operate its own nuclear-powered subs. In the next few years, however, US and British subs are set to visit Australia more frequently. ![]() In March, President Joe Biden and his British and Australian counterparts announced a timeline for Australia to acquire new nuclear-powered submarines, with it first buying US-built subs in the early 2030s and then receiving the first Australian-built boats by the early 2040s. US and British submarines are set to soon operate out of Australia, giving the allies greater reach and presence in the Indian and Pacific oceans, where undersea activity by friends and foes alike has been intensifying. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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