Ավստրալիայի «ոչ մի ձախողում» սուզանավերի առաքելությունը պատրաստվում է ցնցումների, քանի որ պետը հեռանում է

• Topic:Defence and National Security

12h ago12 hours agoThu 6 Nov 2025 at 6:50pm

In short:

The first boss of the Australian Submarine Agency, Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead,  has announced he will retire in mid-2026.

Mr Mead was recruited to the then-secret Nuclear-Powered Submarine Task Force in February 2021, seven months before the AUKUS submarine pact was unveiled.

What's next?

A top Pentagon official has revealed the agency's review of the $368 billion pact is in its "final stages", a fortnight after US President Donald Trump publicly endorsed the agreement. 

Australia's fledgling submarine agency is bracing for shake-up with the admiral in charge of the massive AUKUS program stepping down after five years in the job.

Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead, the first boss of the Australian Submarine Agency, has announced he will retire in mid-2026, one year before the first US nuclear-powered submarine is due to be deployed to Western Australia.

The change-of-command came as a top Pentagon official and advisor to Under Secretary Elbridge Colby revealed the agency's much-anticipated review of the pact was in its "final stages".

"The US has total support and believes Australia is on the right pathway," Vice Admiral Mead told the ABC.

"We've met all the milestones, we're ready for 2027."

The Pentagon launched the surprise review In June to assess whether AUKUS aligned with the president's America-first agenda. 

Alexander Velez-Green, a senior advisor to the under secretary, told a hearing in Washington that review was now "in the final stages", while giving a strong endorsement of the agreement.

"It is in our interests for this to work — we gain significant benefit from it, so we want to make it as strong as possible," Mr Velez-Green told senators.

The review is one of a number of uncertainties Australian officials are being forced to contend with.

US Navy chief John Phelan recently suggested there were "ambiguities" in the agreement that needed to be clarified and last week, US President Donald Trump revealed America could also help South Korea build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

Defence Minister Richard Marles first learned of the deal between the US and South Korea when it was announced on social media a week ago, but he has shrugged off concerns about the pressure this could place on America's shipyards, and the implications that might have for Australia.

"I learned when it was announced publicly," Mr Marles said, adding "we are supportive of America building capability with its allies and that very much includes South Korea."

"I have absolute confidence that in terms of the arrangements we have with the US and for that matter, the United Kingdom, that will all go unchanged by the announcement that's been made between the US and South Korea," he said.

'Full steam ahead'

From late 2027, US nuclear-powered submarines are due to begin rotating through Perth's HMAS Stirling naval base — the first tangible element of the pact — before Australia begins acquiring second-hand Virginia class subs from America in 2032.

The final stage of the program will see Australia build its own fleet of SSN AUKUS submarines in South Australia, a task Vice Admiral Mead said was "more complicated than building a space shuttle".

US President Donald Trump declared the agreement was going "full steam ahead" — in his first major endorsement of the $368 billion pact — even talking up the "magnificent" facilities being built in Perth.

The government is spending billions of dollars transforming both HMAS Stirling and the neighbouring Henderson shipyard — which will be home to Australia's future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines — but there has been almost no public discussion about options for an east-coast base.

Previously, Port Kembla in Wollongong was thought to the Defence Departments' preferred option, with Brisbane and Newcastle also short-listed.

Mr Marles insists Labor is still committed to establishing a base on the eastern seaboard, and is "open-minded" about the location, but has delayed making a decision until "around 2030" — well after the next federal election.

"It's important that our submarines, in the fullness of time, are able to operate from both sides of our continent," Mr Marles said.

"But it's a decision for a long way down the track and we're not going to rush into decisions ahead of time."

Secret task force

In an interview with Vice Admiral Mead, Mr Marles paid tribute to the out-going submarine boss revealing he was "at the heart" of the decision by the US government to sell its Virginia class submarines to Australia, and helped convince the UK to help develop the SSN AUKUS fleet.

"They are gigantic decisions of both of those governments and yet are absolutely key to Australia being able to acquire this capability," Mr Marles said.

"And then to, of course, stand up the Australian Submarine Agency itself. Jonathan was the first employee and today there are 900.

"This is a huge contribution to Australia, and the truth of the matter is, we owe Jonathan a debt of gratitude."

Vice Admiral Mead was recruited to the then-secret Nuclear-Powered Submarine Task Force in February 2021, seven months before the AUKUS submarine pact was unveiled by then Prime Minister Scott Morrison alongside his US and UK counterparts Joe Biden and Boris Johnson.

"I thought I'd seen a lot in 37 years, the enormity of that task was breath-taking," he said, recalling the moment he was tapped on the shoulder.

"I knew how monumental this step would be for Australia: a generational leap in capability."

Four years later, the task force has now grown at a rapid pace to become the Australian Submarine Agency, overseeing one of the biggest and most complex endeavours the country has undertaken.

The submarine boss said he had consulted Mr Marles about the timing of his departure and believed by stepping down mid-next year, he would give his successor enough time to settle in before Perth received the first US submarine in 2027.

No plan B

Despite Mr Trump's endorsement, and the Australian government's confidence, defence experts including Elizabeth Buchanan are both sceptical that the agreement will deliver the promised nuclear-powered submarines on time, and critical that there is no Plan B if the pact falls through.

"Right now we are nodding along acknowledging risks but not putting into action Plan B or C or D for Australian defence. We can't conjure capability overnight, so we need alternatives to the AUKUS grand plan," said Dr Buchanan, a senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

"Australia sees AUKUS as the jewel of defence of Australia, the US has downgraded it from strategic to program delivery, in its own internal ecosystem, and the Brits are probably just happy to be involved.

"This diverse approach between the partners is surely a red flag."

While acknowledging it is a massive and complicated task, Vice Admiral Mead has rebuffed that criticism, describing AUKUS as "absolute high priority".

"It's a no fail mission for us," he said.

"The region around this is changing and in order to meet that change we need a defence force that is capable to defend itself and if need be, project itself."

As he prepares to leave the agency — and the "most demanding, challenging and satisfying" job of his defence career — Vice Admiral Mead has his sights set on another gruelling endeavour: competing in next year's Boston Marathon.

"Sometimes I wonder if doing a marathon under arduous conditions harder than leading the nuclear-powered submarine agency? You could toss a ball there," he said.