Australia, the US and the UK will work together over the next two decades to build and operate a new type of nuclear-powered submarine as part of a $368 million investment.

Australia will also buy up to five American-made nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines during the 2030s, as part of the AUKUS alliance.

Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy described it as the greatest ever industrial undertaking Australia has ever attempted.

“It’s a very large sum of money but it’s a very big investment in our national security that will also deliver around 20,000 jobs and help modernise our manufacturing industry,” he told Neil Breen.

He says part of the cost is building a nuclear power submarine construction industry from scratch.

“We have to build the workforce and the industrial capacity.”

Press PLAY below to hear the Minister explain more details in full

Image: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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Details of Australia’s huge $368 billion submarine deal revealed