The virtual seminar will be held from 12:30 to 2 pm (E.T.)
The Australia–UK–US (AUKUS) deal to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia as part of the US effort to counter and contain China in the Asia Pacific would be the first ever transfer of nuclear submarine technology and weapon-grade material for use in a military application to a non-nuclear weapons state. It will require first-of-a-kind exemptions to US nonproliferation laws and international agreements. This seminar will consider the nuclear security and proliferation implications involved in this deal, the options for the US Congress with regard to the AUKUS deal, and potential options for the Biden administration to mitigate its proliferation implications, including the possibility for the US to develop a new LEU-fueled submarine reactor.
About the speakers: Frank von Hippel is a senior research physicist and professor of public and international affairs emeritus and a co-founder of the Program on Science & Global Security. Sébastien Philippe is a researcher with the Program on Science & Global Security. Previously, he was a nuclear safety expert for the strategic submarine forces in the French Ministry of Defense.