Maintaining the AUKUS coalition: the U.S. makes concessions to Australia ahead of Anthony Albanese’s visit to Washington

On September 30, 2025, the Donald Trump administration decided to extend the AUKUS coalition agreement, which includes the sale of Virginia-class submarines to Australia starting in 2032.

The relevant procedures will be finalized by October 20, when Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to make his first visit to Washington for negotiations with Donald Trump and to conclude a “grand deal” between the U.S. and Australia.

This move by the United States signals that the Pentagon is scaling back the review of the AUKUS agreement led by Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby.

The review aimed to determine whether the U.S. military-industrial base could support the transfer of submarines to Australia amid a shipyard capacity crisis and to assess whether Canberra is prepared to deploy its submarines in the event of a military conflict between the U.S. and China in the Indo-Pacific.