Pentagon official and former Aukus sceptic says deal is ‘full steam ahead’, echoing Trump

Elbridge Colby says Aukus is ‘an historic endeavour’ and the US remains ‘clear-eyed’ about the deal. Photograph: Lou Benoist/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Elbridge Colby says Aukus is ‘an historic endeavour’ and the US remains ‘clear-eyed’ about the deal. Photograph: Lou Benoist/AFP/Getty Images Pentagon official and former Aukus sceptic says deal is ‘full steam ahead’, echoing Trump Elbridge Colby, a US under secretary of war, says he is ‘very pleased’ with the nuclear submarine program’s progress Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Elbridge Colby, the third-highest-ranking official at the Pentagon and formerly an avowed Aukus sceptic, has mirrored his president’s language on the nuclear submarine deal, saying it is “full steam ahead”. Colby, a US under secretary of war, was the author of the Trump administration’s review of the Aukus deal, which would see the US sell three in-service Virginia-class submarines to Australia, before the development of Australia’s domestically built Aukus-class submarines. The original draft of Colby’s review was understood to be sceptical about the Aukus agreement’s prospects of success, but was rewritten – on some accounts twice – to more closely align with the president’s position that Aukus was “full steam ahead”. Colby told an Asia-Pacific press briefing on Thursday “we’re very pleased to say that Aukus is – as the president said – full steam ahead”. He said the Pentagon was “very pleased with the progress that has been made since the conclusion of the Aukus review which … has provided a roadmap for the success of the Aukus program. “We all know this is an historic endeavour on the part of both countries, but particularly for Australia.” The first Virginia-class submarine is slated to be sold to Australia in 2032. “We remain optimistic but also clear-eyed about what we all need to do,” Colby said. “We will just keep knocking down the targets on our side. We have every expectation the Australian side will do the same.” He said the US had “no better ally” than Australia, and that the US and Australia enjoyed a “deep alignment of thinking”. “Australia really sees things through the lens of collective defence and a strategy of deterrence by denial designed to sustain a balance of power in this key region.” Colby was asked about production rates of Virginia-class submarines, and also the potential presence of nuclear-armed submarines at Australian ports. US boat-building rates have remained stubbornly laggard. It is currently manufacturing Virginia-class submarines at a rate of 1.1 to 1.2 a year. That rate needs to be lifted to two boats a year to service US needs alone, and 2.33 boats a year in order to sell any to Australia. Colby said the Pentagon was “very focused on submarine production, submarine maintenance, and making sure that that’s in as strong a place as it can be”. He said the Pentagon and broader Trump administration had “a very clear understanding” with Australia about its expectations under the Aukus agreement. “They know what is required, we’ve been very clear in private with them. “[Those discussions were] designed to give everybody a reasonable, stable and realistic set of expectations to achieve this historic ambition that will put us all in a stronger place.” Colby did not comment on the potential of nuclear-armed US submarines docking at Australian ports. The US maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity” around its nuclear capabilities, refusing to confirm or deny whether its nuclear-capable platforms – including aircraft submarines – are carrying nuclear warheads. Malcolm Turnbull says faith in Aukus nuclear submarines deal is 'stark staring bonkers' – video The Australian Department of Defence says it respects the US policy and does not ask whether platforms – such as B-52 bombers landing on Australian soil – are nuclear-armed. Colby’s comments came in the same week an inquiry into Aukus held public hearings in Sydney, Newcastle and Port Kembla. The former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull told the inquiry Australia’s blind faith in the Aukus submarine deal was “stark staring bonkers”, and argued the asymmetric deal with the US would likely result in no submarines at all for Australia. Giving evidence to the inquiry in Sydney, Turnbull said the US was prevented by its own legislation from selling any submarines to Australia if that would “degrade” its own fleet. Explore more on these topics Aukus Donald Trump Australian foreign policy Australian military Australian politics news Share Reuse this content