ICYMI: Courtney Expects Pentagon’s AUKUS Review to Focus on Industrial Base Improvements

NORWICH, CT – In case you missed it, Inside Defense published Congressman Joe Courtney’s reaction to this week’s White House meeting between Australian Prime Minister Albanese and President Trump. After four months of uncertainty about continued U.S. support for AUKUS amid a Pentagon review, this week’s White House meeting fully endorsed the trilateral security agreement.  

Courtney: Congress Expects AUKUS Review to Focus on U.S. Industrial Base Improvements

By Nick Wilson / October 21, 2025

The Trump administration’s ongoing review of the AUKUS security partnership is likely to produce a series of recommendations focused on improving United States industrial base performance, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) said today.

Yesterday, President Trump delivered what appeared to be a full-throated endorsement of AUKUS, alleviating concerns over the future of the Biden-era defense deal that have simmered since the Trump administration initiated a review of the agreement in June.

Appearing alongside Trump, Navy Secretary John Phelan said the aim of this review is to improve upon the original framework and clarify “ambiguity” within it. The review is expected to conclude later this fall.

“My expectation is that we're going to see some recommendations when the secretary's report is released. Again, the president described it as minor details,” Courtney told reporters today. “I think everyone would welcome improvements of any kind that people want to suggest, but I don't think what's being recommended in any way truncates AUKUS or stops AUKUS from moving forward.”

Courtney, an AUKUS proponent who represents a submarine-building district and serves as the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee ranking member, said he anticipates the review to yield a series of recommendations focused on improving domestic industrial base performance that can be implemented unilaterally by the U.S.

The Navy’s chief concern, Courtney said, is reaching the necessary Virginia-class submarine production rates to meet both domestic and AUKUS demand.

To deliver on the AUKUS commitment of selling three or more Virginia boats to Australia, industry must improve production rates to over 2.3 vessels per year compared to today’s annual rate of only about 1.2 boats.

“What I'm expecting, particularly based on what the [Navy] secretary said, is that [the review] is going to be very much focused on how we execute this better, which is a totally legitimate area of change and critique,” Courtney said.

The review is not expected to lead to substantial alterations to the U.S.’s original commitments to Australia and the United Kingdom under the agreement, he added. However, Courtney acknowledged that uncertainty remains over the review and its results. 

Still, following Trump’s endorsement of the security partnership, the mood among Australian allies -- including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese -- is now “very buoyant and very bullish about AUKUS moving forward,” Courtney said. 

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