nuclear-news

Pointless sending of UK nuclear submarine HMS Anson to Australia?

Peter Remta, 6 Mar 26

It seems incongruous that with a fleet of nine nuclear
powered submarines the United Kingdom has only one
operational vessel from the fleet which has been sent to
Garden Island in Western Australia instead of using it for
protective deployment around the British Isles

That submarine being HMS Anson still requires some minor
maintenance work for its continued operations which is
being undertaken at Garden Island

It appears that the real reason for Anson being sent to
Australia is for the United Kingdom to demonstrate some
capacity in being able to be an active participant in the
AUKUS agreement but this may be a rather hopeless
exercise in view of the strained relationship with the United
States over the Iran war

The lack of naval capacity of the United Kingdom is best
demonstrated by the fact that the destroyer HMS Dragon
proposed to be send to Cyprus for protection of its naval
1 of 2 base on the island cannot be put to sea due to the
incapacity of undertaking the necessary dockyard work for
it seagoing status

All of this should be borne in mind when planning for the
future development of the AUKUS proposals

It is therefore beyond the wildest dreams to contemplate

the design and subsequent construction of the SSN-
AUKUS submarine

How will the Australian government react to this situation
when AUKUS is a major part of its defence strategy?

March 11, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, weapons and war