AUKUS Nuclear Cooperation (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised Nov. 18, 2024 |
| Report Number |
IF11999 |
| Report Type |
In Focus |
| Authors |
Paul K. Kerr, Mary Beth D. Nikitin |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
On August 7, 2024, President Joseph Biden submitted to
Congress an “Agreement among the Government of
Australia, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Government of the
United States of America for Cooperation Related to Naval
Nuclear Propulsion.” This In Focus explains the
agreement’s substance, as well as provisions of the Atomic
Energy Act (AEA) of 1954, as amended (P.L. 83-703; 42
U.S.C. §§2153 et seq.), concerning the content and
congressional review of such agreements.
The 2024 agreement, which would permit the transfer of
nuclear material and naval nuclear reactors among the three
governments, would supersede a 2022 agreement that
permitted only the transfer of Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Information (NNPI) and Restricted Data (RD). The latter
agreement entered into force on February 8, 2022.
Cooperation pursuant to the two agreements supports a
project to develop Australian nuclear-powered submarines.
This project is part of the AUKUS “enhanced trilateral
security partnership,” which Australia, the United
Kingdom, and the United States announced on September
15, 2021. The United States has a similar nuclear naval
propulsion arrangement only with the United Kingdom
pursuant to a bilateral 1958 Mutual Defense Agreement.
The partnership’s first initiative, according to a September
15, 2021, Joint Statement, was an 18-month study “to seek
an optimal pathway to deliver” this submarine capability to
Australia. On March 13, 2023, Australian Prime Minister
Anthony N. Albanese, U.S. President Biden, and thenBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a “phased
approach” for Australian acquisition of a nuclear-powered
submarine, called SSN-AUKUS, which is to be based on a
“next-generation” British design and incorporate “cutting
edge U.S. submarine technologies.” SSN-AUKUS “will be
built and deployed by both Australia and the United
Kingdom,” according to the leaders’ statement.
