The SSN-AUKUS (AUKUS class) nuclear-powered submarine will launch in the next decade at the earliest. It's still a long way off, but development of the AUKUS class has already begun, with the first phase development contract having been entrusted to BAE Systems.
In accordance with the agreement contained in the defense pact of the three countries - Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom (AUKUS), Australia and the United Kingdom will design and build a completely new nuclear-powered submarine for the navies of the two countries, labeled the AUKUS class.
It seems that preparation activities for the construction of nuclear submarines that will operate in the Pacific have attracted the attention of Chinese intelligence. Quoted from the Taipei Times – taipeitimes.com (23/10/2023), MI5 Director General Ken McCallum told journalists at a security summit in California that China was trying to 'disrupt' the AUKUS class submarine project.
For the record, MI5 or Military Intelligence Unit Section 5, is a unit that carries out counterintelligence missions and is a domestic security agency for the United Kingdom. MI5 is part of the British intelligence machine, alongside the Secret Intelligence Service or MI6. The latter is an intelligence unit which is famous for being the intelligence unit where the legendary espionage icon "James Bond 007" resides.
McCallum said that China's main attack vector targets not only the military, but also startups, whose employees may not view national security as a concern. “China is trying to disrupt a project to help Australia build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines,” McCallum said.
The Telegraph said that Beijing had made the AUKUS class project a “high priority” to try to steal intellectual property involved in the AUKUS partnership. The AUKUS Partnership is an agreement between Australia, Britain and the United States formed in 2021, namely to share military technology, such as nuclear-powered submarines.
With the aim of countering China's growing influence in the Pacific region. Since the AUKUS submarine project was announced and the contract was executed, Chinese spies began to infiltrate related institutions and try to steal their secrets.
MI5 director McCallum said around 20,000 Britons had been 'approached' by Chinese actors on the LinkedIn app in the hope of stealing industrial or technological secrets. Industrial espionage is occurring on a “real scale,” he said, adding that around 10,000 businesses in the UK are at risk, especially in the fields of artificial intelligence, quantum computing or synthetic biology, which Chinese spies are trying to steal.
The main attack vector, McCallum said, was attempts to steal information by Chinese actors posing as recruiting consultants on LinkedIn. "We think the number of cases we are facing has exceeded 20,000 cases where the initial approach was online through such sites," he said, compared with 10,000 cases two and a half years ago.
The AUKUS class will be built in the UK and Australia with British designs, but using technology from the three AUKUS pact countries. In general, the AUKUS class submarines can support the Australian Navy's mission of exploring the sea further and faster than the Collins class diesel electric submarine fleet currently in use.
Even though it does not carry nuclear weapons, it is certain that the AUKUS class will be equipped with cruise missiles that can attack targets on land and sea. For the UK, the AUKUS class will replace the current British Navy nuclear-powered submarine, the Astute class.