In 2025, global submarine developments accelerated as South Korea secured US approval to build nuclear submarines, Australia advanced AUKUS operations & Russia unveiled its Poseidon-armed Khabarovsk. From quantum navigation to autonomous warfare, this year’s submarine news highlights an escalating undersea arms race reshaping global defence strategy.
Global submarine programs surged through 2025 as nations armed their fleets with nuclear, autonomous & quantum-enhanced systems. This year’s submarine news marks a decisive shift in defence and industry-from Asia to the Indo-Pacific & beyond.
🇰🇷 South Korea Reshapes the Alliance with Nuclear Submarine Deal
President Donald Trump stunned the world at the Gyeongju APEC summit, declaring:
“I have given them approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine, rather than the old-fashioned & far less nimble diesel-powered submarines that they have now.”
He later added:
“Shipbuilding in our country will soon be making a BIG COMEBACK. Stay tuned!”
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung did not approach as a supplicant but as a buyer offering a $350 billion industrial package anchored in steel, jobs, and semiconductors. Of this, $150 billion goes to shipbuilding – including Hanwha Group’s $5 billion revamp of Philadelphia Shipyard & $200 billion into semiconductors.
Lee visited Hanwha’s Philadelphia shipyard on 26 August 2025, underlining Seoul’s determination to embed South Korean industry inside the US supply chain.
The deal creates mutual industrial dependency between Washington & Seoul. Voting against it would force US lawmakers to reject local jobs & naval capacity. As a result, Congress is effectively locked in to supporting the agreement.
Admiral Kang Dong-gil confirmed that “if a decision is made, it would take roughly ten years to introduce the first SSN,” while Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back urged for “four or more nuclear submarines” to match North Korea’s expanding fleet.
Hanwha Ocean launched the 3 600-tonne KSS-III Batch 2 submarine ROKS Jang Yeong-sil on 22 October 2025, due for ROK Navy service in 2027-another milestone toward self-reliant submarine production.
Hanwha Ocean’s Future Submarine concept hints at nuclear propulsion & reduced-noise propulsors. Analysts see this as a strategic industrial fusion that binds the two nations “too intertwined to fail.”
Security experts Jenny Town & Kim Dong-yup noted that the agreement “formalised a transactional balance — Seoul increasing defence spending & US investments in exchange for extended deterrence guarantees.”
🇦🇺 Australia & AUKUS Stay the Course
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reaffirmed AUKUS commitments after Trump’s announcement, stating:
“The arrangements that Australia has entered into with the United States and the United Kingdom are in our national interest… They’ve been clear ever since.”
Despite a 30-day AUKUS review launched in June 2025 – led by a known AUKUS sceptic & extended into northern autumn – Trump reiterated his backing for accelerated delivery of Australia’s three Virginia-class boats & five Adelaide-built SSN-AUKUS submarines valued at A$368 billion.
USS Vermont & Submarine Rotational Force-West
On 29 October 2025, USS Vermont (SSN-792) docked at HMAS Stirling for a major Submarine Maintenance Period – the first US-led nuclear maintenance outside America.
Thirteen Royal Australian Navy submariners, 19 ASC technicians & dozens of Pearl Harbor trainees executed the program without a tender ship, building skills for 2027’s Submarine Rotational Force – West launch.
The project is forecast to support up to 20 000 skilled defence & shipbuilding jobs across Australia by 2035, boosting sovereign capability.
Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead hailed it as “a significant leap toward sovereign readiness,” while Navy Chief Mark Hammond praised the RAN crew for demonstrating Australia’s growing nuclear stewardship.
🇬🇧 Royal Navy Leads Quantum Navigation Revolution
Britain’s Royal Navy installed a quantum clock on its XV Excalibur robotic submarine, using the Infleqtion Tiqker optical atomic system based on Rubidium-87.
Commander Matthew Steele explained it as “a first critical step towards understanding how quantum clocks can enable precision navigation & timing in support of prolonged operations.”
Losing only one second every 30 billion years, the device solves underwater navigation drift & is being tested for AUKUS partner integration under shared quantum data agreements.
🇮🇩 Indonesia Fires Torpedo from Autonomous Submarine
Indonesia’s PT PAL and the Ministry of Defence successfully test-fired a 324 mm torpedo from the locally developed Kapal Selam Otonom (KSOT). Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin called it “a strategic step toward self-reliance in maritime defence.”
The dry-launch trial at Surabaya showcased compressed-gas expulsion, deployed MIMO antennas & optical sensors-a foundation for future autonomous underwater vehicles in Southeast Asia.
🇷🇺 Russia Launches Khabarovsk Submarine with Poseidon Drones
Russia unveiled its Khabarovsk nuclear submarine at Severodvinsk, hailed by Defence Minister Andrei Belousov as “a significant event for our Navy.” The vessel carries six Poseidon nuclear-powered drones capable of intercontinental range & massive underwater detonation.
President Vladimir Putin confirmed a successful reactor test in the Kara Sea, saying the weapon “has no analogues in the world for speed and depth.” Construction of its sister ship Ulyanovsk continues.
Defence analysts link this development to renewed urgency behind AUKUS & Indo-Pacific security efforts.
🇦🇺 INDOPAC 2025 & Australia’s Defence Showcase
At the Indo-Pacific International Maritime Exposition in Sydney (4–6 November 2025), the Australian Submarine Agency (ASA) showcased AUKUS progress, highlighting Submarine Rotational Force – West, nuclear safety, waste management & careers in the nuclear enterprise.
Interactive displays and panel sessions drew hundreds of students & engineers, promoting Australia’s path to a sovereign nuclear-powered fleet.
NSW Government Secrecy & Submarine Base Debate
Freedom-of-information requests for documents on a potential nuclear submarine base in NSW triggered multiple government reversals. After initially claiming Cabinet confidentiality, officials admitted error but then blocked release again after Defence objected.
Defence argued the records identified “base locations, site suitability studies and strategic assessments.” Critics said such information is already visible via public sources like HMAS Stirling & Parliament committee records.
Adding to controversy, analysts highlighted that Chinese companies already hold 50 per cent ownership in Newcastle Port and assets in Port Kembla, giving Beijing insight into maritime infrastructure — weakening Defence’s secrecy argument.
Greens Senator David Shoebridge responded that “this is about hiding plans from the public, not from foreign adversaries,” reflecting mounting concern over transparency and social licence.
ASPI Warns of a ‘Looming Period of Strategic Risk’
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) warned that “we can’t solve a 2027 deterrence problem with a 2032 deterrent capability.” Its report highlighted gaps before AUKUS delivery & urged non-traditional deterrence measures – cyber, electronic warfare & space.
ASPI’s analysis landed days after Russia’s Khabarovsk nuclear submarine launch, underscoring the urgency for Australia to fast-track deterrence readiness.
AIDN CEO Mike Johnson added that “sovereignty is about security as well as economic resilience & technological leadership.”
Regional Reactions & Strategic Ripples
Analysts say Seoul’s nuclear ambitions could spur Japan to pursue its own non-conventional submarines. Researcher Kim Jae Yeop noted that “Japan’s possible pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines is a stronger motive than threat from Pyongyang or Beijing.”
China’s Foreign Ministry urged all nations to “fulfil their non-proliferation obligations and promote regional stability,” as its own fleet continues rapid expansion.
A Global Undersea Arms Race
From Korea’s industrial strategies and AUKUS’s training programs to Russia’s nuclear-armed Poseidons & Britain’s quantum leaps, 2025’s submarine news confirms a new era of interlinked security & technology.
The world’s oceans are now the frontier of geopolitical competition — an arena where industrial partnerships, nuclear stewardship & autonomous innovation decide who rules beneath the waves.
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