Aukus: Biden urged to fast-track research into submarines using non-weapons grade uranium

With March looming as the deadline for key decisions on how Australia acquires at least eight nuclear-powered submarines with help from the US and the UK, all three countries maintain the work remains on track.

A newly published letter coordinated by Bill Foster, a physicist serving as US representative for an Illinois congressional district, asks the Biden administration to ramp up research into alternatives to using weapons-grade uranium to power submarines.

They noted Biden had authorised funding of $20m to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for nuclear fuels development.

The Australian government has said it will comply with the highest non-proliferation standards and pledged to work with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

With concerns that the first Australian-built nuclear-powered submarines may not be ready until about 2040, there has been speculation that Australia could seek to buy the first couple of boats from offshore.

Austin promised in December that the US would not allow Australia to have a capability gap between the retirement of its existing Collins class conventional fleet and the entry into service of new nuclear-powered submarines.

That has prompted a vigorous debate within US politics about how to help Australia in the short to medium term without undermining its own submarine needs.

Marles and the Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, joined their British counterparts Wallace and James Cleverly for annual high-level talks in the UK on Thursday, with Aukus one of the key topics on the agenda.