Australian Defence Minister confirms submariners to train inside UK's nuclear subs

The Australian Defence Secretary Richard Marles has confirmed Australian submariners will train on UK nuclear submarines.

Australian naval officers will be allowed to train inside Britain's nuclear-powered submarines for the first time giving them access to technology that has until now been a top secret to foreign countries, it has been reported.

In an interview with The Times newspaper, Australia's deputy prime minister Richard Marles said naval officers would be allowed to see nuclear engineering at work for the first time as part of plans under discussion by British and Australian ministers today.

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UK and Australian political leaders had met in September to discuss how to tackle shared global security threats as the attack submarine HMS Anson was commissioned into the Royal Navy.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace attended a ceremony at Barrow-In-Furness with Australian representative – the country's new Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

They spoke about common defence interests, including their AUKUS partnership and the Type 26 Hunter-class warship programme, developed amid security threats in the Indo-Pacific region.

The AUKUS deal involves the UK, Australia and the US working closely together and sharing technology.

The Barrow visit in September marked Mr Marles' first trip to the UK since Australia's new government took office.

£1.3bn has been spent on developing HMS Anson – the fifth of the Navy's new Astute-class attack submarines.

Two more of the vessels are under construction at the Barrow-In-Furness site in North West England – part of an £11.2bn investment in the Astute-class programme, the MOD said.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: "I'm looking forward to hosting Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

"We have lots of work ahead, responding to growing threats in the Indo-Pacific and progressing our ambitious defence programmes within the AUKUS initiative.

"Hosting him in Barrow is testament to the importance of the North West for our shared security and prosperity."