Under the so-called AUKUS deal, Australia will buy three Virginia-class submarines from the US in the early 2030s, pending congressional approval.Ĭhina has lambasted the agreement, accusing the three powers of engaging in “Cold War mentality” that will make the world less safe. Watch: Chinese fighter jet's warning to US Navy plane in South China Sea The role these vessels play – hard to spot, hard to destroy and able to travel vast distances – was given fresh impetus when earlier this month, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia announced details of a nuclear-powered submarine deal that would see greater cooperation between the three countries to counter China’s rapid military expansion. “And even when we’re in port, we’re still here sunup to sundown working.”Īs concerns over an accelerating nuclear arms race in Asia grow, a CNN crew was given exclusive access to the USS Mississippi, one of what Jablon said are 49 fast-attack submarines in the US fleet, to witness how Washington is stepping up preparations to deter a potential conflict in the region. “I see them every day, work with them every day, sleep right next to each other,” Jack O’Brien, a 22-year-old machinist from Massachusetts, says of his comrades. It is cramped and claustrophobic work, where those on board describe long periods at sea and intense relationships, almost like a family. In the control room more than a dozen sailors were on duty, some looking for obstacles on sonar, others charged with navigating in the dark depths.ĭown in the torpedo room, technicians practiced loading weapons to ensure operational readiness at all times, engineers manned the lower floors to ensure the water and hydraulic systems were functioning properly. The control room of the USS Mississippi, a US Navy fast-attack submarine John Mees/CNN

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