Australia scraps new Virginia-class submarines in AUKUS shake-up

Australia will now buy second-hand Virginia-class submarines. (Reuters: Brian Snyder)

Richard Marles says Australia will purchase second-hand Virginia-class submarines from the United States as part of an AUKUS shift.

Australia was expected to receive at least two used and one new Virginia-class submarine, but those plans have changed.

Mr Marles says there will be "significant" savings for Australia, although it will not make a huge difference to the overall cost of the program.

Defence Minister Richard Marles says Australia will make "significant" savings under an AUKUS shift that will see the government purchase only second-hand Virginia-class submarines from the United States.

Under the 2021 AUKUS deal, Australia was expected to receive at least two used and one new Virginia-class submarine.

The US, Australia and United Kingdom have unveiled a new "signature" project to develop cutting edge weapons systems and sensors for underwater drones.

But late on Saturday, the US, UK and Australia announced that they would "streamline" the purchase, with Australia no longer buying any new submarines but acquiring three second-hand submarines from the same production block.

Mr Marles told reporters at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that AUKUS was an "incredibly complicated" endeavour and "we need to place a premium on simplicity".

"We had the prospect … of almost having four classes of submarines operating at the same time: the last of the Collins Class, two in-service Virginias, a brand new Virginia, and a brand new SSN-AUKUS. That gets pretty complicated," he said.

"What we will have here is a simpler pathway. The Virginias we are acquiring will all be of the same type and I can't overstate the significance of that.

He also said there would be "significant" savings for Australia, although it would not make a huge difference to the overall cost of the ambitious and expensive program.

"It doesn't fundamentally change the equation, but it will help," he said.

Richard Marles says this shift will save Australia money. (Reuters: Edgar Su)

Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson said the shift "warrants a proper explanation from government — more than just a single sentence in a joint statement".

"I will be seeking an explanation from Defence at Senate estimates this week about why this change was made and what the implications are," he said.

The joint US–UK–Australia statement described the change as a mutual streamlining "simplifying supply-chain management, operational and maintenance requirements, and maximising cost efficiencies".

Dr Ma