<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Britain has signed contracts worth 4 billion pounds ($4.8 billion) to finance a new phase of the SSN-AUKUS next-generation attack submarine project, according to government officials.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The deals, which involve British companies BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock, are part of the AUKUS military alliance between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom to counter China in the Asia-Pacific region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"(The) submarines will empower the Royal Navy to maintain our strategic advantage under the sea," UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said at the Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester on Sunday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">AUKUS leaders unveiled the joint submarine project last March in a deal that will see Australia replace its diesel-powered submarines with nuclear-powered ones that have far greater stealth and range.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plan involves Australia purchasing US nuclear-powered submarines, and then building a new model with US and British technology.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak praised it as "the most important multilateral defence agreement for generations".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a separate statement, BAE Systems said that the future SSN-AUKUS "will be the largest, most powerful and most advanced submarine" supplied to the Royal Navy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The British military equipment maker said the investment will "cover development work until 2028", and the "recruitment of more than 5,000 people" at its Barrow-in-Furness site in northern England.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first examples of this submarine are due to be delivered in the late 2030s.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nuclear-powered submarines are difficult to detect, can travel great distances for long periods, and can carry sophisticated cruise missiles. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>