The AUKUS announcement in September 2021 cancelled a $90 billion French conventional submarine contract with 48 hours notice and restructured Indo-Pacific security relationships in ways that are still propagating. The political noise has been considerable. The practical delivery — a nuclear-powered attack submarine built in Australia with American and British technology — has now begun in physical, tangible form.

HMAS Resolute is the first of eight SSN-AUKUS class submarines to be constructed at the Osborne facility, with the keel-laying ceremony attended by the defence ministers of all three AUKUS partners in February 2025. The vessel uses a design derived from the British Astute class but extensively modified to incorporate American combat systems, Australian-specific communications architecture, and manufacturing processes compatible with the Osborne facility's capabilities.

The industrial challenge has been substantial. Australia had no nuclear-powered vessel construction experience, no nuclear-trained naval engineering workforce, and no regulatory framework for naval reactors when the program began. A workforce of 4,200 shipyard workers has been trained through a partnership with BAE Systems and Newport News Shipbuilding; a new Australian Nuclear-Powered Submarine Safety Regulator has been established with Australian, British, and American technical staff; and five Australian naval officers per year are embedded in US and UK submarine programs for operational training.

The first submarine will not be operational until 2034 at the earliest. In the interim, Australia has committed to hosting rotational deployments of US and UK submarines at HMAS Stirling near Perth from 2027, providing the Alliance with forward basing in the Indian Ocean and giving the Royal Australian Navy operational exposure to nuclear submarine systems before its own vessels enter service.

"This is not a purchase," said Defence Minister Richard Marles. "It is a capability we are building into ourselves. That takes time. It also lasts."