This article by ASC Chief Nuclear Officer Neil Crewdson originally appeared in Manufacturers Monthly, 31 July 2026.

ASC is Laying the foundations for Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine future by investing in skills, safety culture, industrial capability and sovereign manufacturing.

When people discuss AUKUS, they usually talk about building and sustaining nuclearpowered submarines.

However, at ASC we are focused on the things that will enable our success, and that is by investing right now in developing our people, cultivating new skills, and driving a national industrial capability uplift.

Most importantly, success will depend on embedding a nuclear safety culture and mindset across our workforce, our suppliers and our broader industry partners. AUKUS presents Australia with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in people and grow the engineers, tradespeople, project managers, technicians, operators and leaders who will shape the future of Australia’s manufacturing and technology sectors.

Having spent nearly three decades in the UK’s nuclear sector, I have seen what a mature nuclear enterprise looks like.

Together, the US and UK have more than 130 years of combined experience designing, building, operating and sustaining nuclear-powered naval assets. That history matters. It brings with it proven standards, deeply embedded, safety cultures and an industrial discipline refined over generations.

Australia now has the unparalleled opportunity to work with our AUKUS partners to build a highprecision industrial ecosystem capable of operating to nuclear standards, drawing on more than a century of combined international experience in naval nuclear propulsion technology.

Building from strong foundations

Australia is not starting from scratch. ASC’s history building and sustaining the Collins Class submarines has established a highly capable sovereign industrial base. From precision engineering and fabrication to systems integration and sustainment, there is already a deep capability that underpins the national submarine enterprise.

The difference with nuclear is not a complete reset – it is an uplift.

It is about taking an already capable manufacturing base and aligning it to the culture, discipline and standards required to operate within a nuclearpowered submarine enterprise. That means elevating quality assurance, embedding rigorous controls, and ensuring safety, quality and security requirements are not simply met, but deeply embedded in how we work.

Meeting nuclear standards will require us to draw on and work closely with Australia’s resident nuclear expertise – but it is about more than technical capability. It requires a culture where quality, safety and attention to detail are embedded in every decision, process and shift. The goal is not simply compliance, but developing a mindset where people do the right thing even when no-one is watching.

This is where the partnership at the heart of AUKUS is so important. We are not developing these capabilities in isolation. We are working alongside organisations in the US and the UK that bring decades of experience, learning what works and what doesn’t, understanding where complexity lies, and applying those lessons in an Australian context.

Ultimately, however, this will not be a replica of either system. It will be something distinct: a nuclear-powered submarine industrial enterprise built in Australia, for Australia.

Building the workforce

No industrial transformation is possible without the right workforce.

One of my core responsibilities at ASC is ensuring we have the people – with the right skills, training and mindset – to deliver on Australia’s commitments under the AUKUS Optimal Pathway.

That effort is already well underway. ASC is investing heavily in its early careers pipeline, bringing apprentices, graduates and trainees into highvalue roles that will underpin the next generation of submarine sustainment and construction. These are long-term careers in highly skilled fields – the kind of opportunities that anchor advanced manufacturing sectors.

At a national level, we are also seeing critical capability being developed closer to home. Australians can now access nuclear training through organisations such as the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and pursue nuclear engineering pathways through institutions including Flinders University – reducing reliance on overseas training.

Equally important is the investment in infrastructure. At Osborne in South Australia, work is progressing on a new Skills and Training Academy that will train up to 1,000 learners each year, once fully operational. Alongside the academy, a Production Demonstration Facility will provide a controlled environment to develop and test advanced manufacturing techniques and validate processes in conditions that replicate real-world submarine construction.

These government investments matter because they demonstrate a fundamental truth: building the workforce to sustain and construct nuclearpowered submarines is not a distant ambition – it is happening now.

Integrating into a global supply chain

One of the most significant shifts underway is the integration of Australian industry into global submarine supply chains.

Through the Defence Industry Vendor Qualification (DIVQ) Program, ASC is working closely with the Australian Submarine Agency, Electric Boat and Australian suppliers to qualify local businesses to operate within the US submarine supply chain, supporting them to meet the stringent engineering, quality and security requirements expected within a nuclear program.

Five Australian businesses have already qualified, and dozens more are progressing through the national qualification program to support Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine program, including construction and sustainment requirements.

ASC is also uplifting suppliers for UK and US sustainment support in-country under the DIVQS program, focussing first on the existing Collins Suppliers, and then working with the US and UK to uplift specialist service providers and materiel suppliers into their sustainment capabilities where needed.

What we are seeing is a step change in how Australian manufacturers engage with global defence programs. Qualification is not simply about winning work today; it is about building enduring capability that allows Australian firms to compete for decades to come.

Strong supply chains are not built overnight. They require investment, persistence and clarity of standards.

The capability developed through this process extends well beyond defence. High-precision engineering and manufacturing practices that meet nuclear standards are equally valuable in other highreliability sectors, including aerospace, energy and advanced technology industries.

Innovation driven by real-world challenges

A common misconception about nuclear programs is that they are conservative by nature. In reality, they are defined by continuous innovation, driven by the need to solve complex, real-world problems in highly complex environments.

At ASC, we are already seeing Australian ingenuity come to the fore.

Partnerships with local industry are delivering practical innovations that improve submarine sustainment outcomes. From the design and delivery of deployable containerised SSN support equipment, such as the MAK Water ultra-pure water plant and ASE’s High Pressure Air Compressor, to digital and physical innovation in production methods – including additive manufacturing partnerships with organisations like WA shipbuilder Austal – these are tangible examples of how local capability is evolving.

Even seemingly small improvements can have an outsized impact in a submarine environment. ASC is always looking to implement efficiency gains, improved reliability, reduced maintenance burdens – incremental changes that add up to major performance gains.

A once-in-a-generation opportunity

What makes AUKUS unique is the alignment of effort across government, industry and education.

Through coordinated investment in workforce, infrastructure and supply chain capability, Australia is positioning itself to deliver one of the most complex manufacturing programs ever undertaken in this country.

For industry, the message is clear. There are opportunities not just for traditional defence suppliers, but for advanced manufacturers across sectors – from energy and resources to transport and technology – whose capabilities can translate into this environment with the right standards and support.

The challenge is to engage early, understand the requirements, and invest in the capability needed to meet them.

Doing it the Australian way

Having worked within established nuclear industries for much of my career, I am often asked how Australia compares.

The honest answer is that Australia is doing something different – and that is our strength. We are taking the best of what has been developed in the US and the UK, learning from decades of experience, and applying it with a fresh perspective.

We are not starting from scratch, and we are not working alone.

What we are doing is building a high-precision industrial capability that can meet the exacting standards required of a nuclear-powered submarine enterprise – one that is safe, resilient, and globally competitive.

When we get this right, the impact will extend far beyond submarines.

It will strengthen Australia’s advanced manufacturing base, create opportunities across multiple industries, and help shape the nation’s industrial future for generations to come.