Australians to train on newly commissioned UK nuclear-powered submarine

Australian submariners will train on a newly commissioned nuclear-powered British submarine, the latest step in the countries' new defence alliance.

Defence Minister Richard Marles joined with his United Kingdom counterpart Ben Wallace and Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday (early this morning AEST) to christen the £1.3 billion ($2.2 billion) HMS Anson.

"To see the enormity of what it is to have a capability of building a nuclear powered submarine is a huge decision for our nation to walk down that path — It's one we are not taking lightly but we are really determined to do," Marles said.

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UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the new submarine underlined the UK's commitment to shared security, particularly with the United States and Australia.

"Today is a significant milestone in the UK and Australia's preparation to confront growing threats to the liberal democratic order, especially in the Indo Pacific," he said.

"Not only have we progressed our defence planning but Minister Marles participated in the commissioning of our latest attack submarine, on which will Royal Australian Navy submariners will be embarked as we develop our shared capabilities in the years ahead."

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The AUKUS agreement granted Australia access to UK and US nuclear submarine technology but is yet to result in a contract to build any vessels.

It's a long-term project, with Wallace admitting Britain is not in a position to build a vessel like the Anson for Australia "in the here and now", needing to build another seven for its own fleet first and pushing timeline out at least into the next decade.

Marles said he'd had "productive" conversations about the treart abd going forward would be talking about costs, nonproliferation and whether to go with UK- or US-built submarines.

"What's really clear is that it is not just about the hardware," he said.

"It's not just about the submarine as important as that is. But there's also a question about building the human capability."

AUKUS also sparked a diplomatic meltdown between Canberra and Paris as French President Emmanuel Macron accused former prime minister Scott Morrison of lying to him.

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Macron and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared to patch things up during a meeting in Paris earlier this year that the French leader described as the beginning of "a new chapter".

Marles also met with his counterparts from Germany and, crucially, France, on this week's European trip.

Both Marles and Wallace insisted France remained an important and reliable partner in the Pacific even after the signing of the AUKUS pact.

Even before the Morrison-Macron spat, caused by secrecy around the cancellation of a $90 billion deal with French company Naval Group, Australia's submarine program had been plagued by delays and cost blowouts.

Marles also admitted he'd had "frank" conversations with manufacturer BAE Systems about getting the country's Hunter-class frigate program "back on track".