Akutan-class submarine

The Akutan class is a class of nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) currently in service with the Royal Navy of Albion. The class is the first nuclear-powered vessel operated by Albion. Based heavily on the British Royal Navy's Trafalgar-class submarine, the boats were constructed in Albion for the RNA's specific needs, with modifications for service in the north. Seven boats are currently in commission.

The submarines are notable for sitting at the centre of major domestic and foreign political turmoil at the time of their procurement.

Procurement
Consideration of nuclear submarines for the RNA had been under consideration since the late 1950s, but typically rejected in favour of more economical diesel-electric submarines. The country procured a small fleet of Oberon-class submarines from the United Kingdom in the 1960s, but as these vessels aged towards obsolescence, governments began analyzing replacement options. The August 1981 Replacement Submarine White Paper, produced late during the Janson administration, presented a range of options but gave its endorsement to the option of procuring a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines to counter Soviet aggression in the Arctic.

The white paper was set aside for several years before emerging for discussion again under the government of Liberal Liberal Prime Minister Mark Longfield, a noted opponent of military up-armament. The Longfield government appeared poised to reject the purchase of nuclear submarines until the USCGC Polar Sea Incident of 1985. The passage of an American ship through the Northwest Passage in defiance of Albion's position that the waterway constituted Alban territorial waters led to national indignation and increased pressure on the government to demonstrate a stronger commitment to northern sovereignty.

Stung by an election rebuke in February 1986, the government reopened the Replacement Submarine White Paper and elected to pursue the nuclear submarine option. By early 1987, the Replacement Submarine procurement was approved, recommending the building of 10 to 12 nuclear submarines for patrol of the Northeast Pacific, Arctic and Northwest Atlantic. The government argued that nuclear submarines were essential for their ability to operate underneath Arctic ice for prolonged periods. The project specified a preference for an existing NATO design, to be built in Albion.

By 1988, the RNA had received proposals to consider either the French Rubis class or the British Trafalgar class, modified for Albion's needs. Behind the scenes, however, Longfield expressed discomfort with the program, feeling that the procurement of such expensive submarines would both impact the budget and upset the delicate balance of power with the Soviet Union. He proceeded with the program with trepidation, mainly at the insistence of his Defense Minister and the RNA Maritime Command. Following the 1988 election, the government announced they would select a version of the Trafalgar, modified with an additional torpedo tube and a number of other modifications for Albion's specific circumstances.

"Boston's Boy"
While the procurement of the submarines was relatively popular at home, it met strong opposition from the United States. American planners objected to the RNA having SSNs in its fleet, fearing the potential for conflict over their perceived right to access the Northwest Passage at will.

Under existing treaties with the United Kingdom and Albion, the US had the right to block the sale of submarine reactors by the UK to any third party. The US promptly moved to exercise this right, preventing the sale of the needed Rolls-Royce nuclear reactors and effectively dooming the program in the event no alternative reactor could be found. The Ministry of Defense opened negotiations with their American counterparts, initially meeting strong resistance and the position that an Alban SSN fleet was "unnecessary and unwelcome."

By this time, public opinion had swung against the United States, and the move to block the sale of reactors was viewed negatively by the public, driven in large part by public advocacy by the powerful Columbia and Fraser-based shipyard workers' unions (whose members stood to gain from the additional construction). Defense Minister Derek Holzfeldt pivoted to engaging with General Electric Albion and Almeco, exploring the possibility of developing a reduced-displacement ALDU reactor derivative suitable for maritime operations. Plans for such a reactor had been quietly under development for some time, and were accelerated at Holzfeldt's order, despite Longfield's misgivings.

Relations between Longfield and US President Lincoln Alexander grew tense as the issue of the nuclear sub program festered. Through late 1989, Longfield made a number of ambiguously-worded statements interpreted by the media to suggest ambivalence about procuring the new submarines. The issue came to a head in the spring of 1990, when the government tabled a budget that slashed the program's funding - effectively cancelling the submarine program with the first boat already laid down in Multnomah.

Media reporting quickly revealed that Longfield had taken a long conference call with Alexander and US Defense Secretary Dick Cheney in the weeks leading up to the budget, and had directed staff and caucus the day after the call to quietly strike the submarine program. Opposition parties derided Longfield as beholden to American interests and bowing to American pressure, a talking point that dovetailed with existing pressure on Longfield's NAFTA negotiations - his government was perceived as taking positions that would benefit American corporations and undercut Alban companies and workers. A columnist in The Post Register penned a piece criticizing Longfield's perceived pro-American positions, coining the moniker "Boston's Boy" - a nickname that would stick.

The dual controversies of NAFTA and the submarine cancellation continued to dog Longfield, who deflected by focusing on the perceived cost of the program. As pressure built on the government to restore funding for the submarines and withdraw from NAFTA, Longfield's poll numbers steadily sank. The 1991 budget allocated sufficient funding to complete the first two submarines and fund the completion of the small-modular ALDU reactor, but this was largely seen as a hedge and annoyed voters from all sides. Together with loggerheads with the US and Mexico in the increasingly unpopular NAFTA debate, Longfield ultimately announced his resignation. In the subsequent rush Liberal leadership race, submarine critic Jim Clerk emerged as the winning candidate and maintained Longfield's position on the submarines.

Program completion
The 1992 election saw the Liberals ousted and a Labour government elected under Isaiah Hunter, who represented a north-facing riding and whose party drew heavily on the shipbuilding unions for support. Hunter's first budget restored funding for the submarine program but continued to face opposition from Alexander and Cheney.

A series of tense bilateral meetings through 1992 ensued, in which Labour insisted they would not cancel the program at this point. In the end, Hunter's government agreed to scale back the planned submarine fleet from 12 boats to seven, a concession intended to mollify American concerns over the presence of another large submarine fleet active along the American coasts. The government also agreed to equip the new submarines with American weapons rather than British. Hunter's government accepted these concessions and continued on with the development of the program, while the issue effectively fell off the radar of a United States more concerned with relations with the Soviet Union and with Alexander's re-election bid to make American-Alban relations an issue.

The issue would ultimately be resolved in 1992, with the defeat of Alexander's VP and successor Donald Rumsfeld by Progressive candidate Robert Rae. Rae, interested in mending fences with Albion and sharing ideological commonalities with Hunter alongside a desire to scale back America's "world police" role somewhat, left the agreed-upon concessions where they laid and gave Hunter America's blessing to continue the submarine program. With tacit American approval, Hunter and successor James Glen pressed ahead with the program.

The first of the submarines - HMRAS Akutan - was brought into commission in 1996. Her maiden voyage in 1997 saw her transit the Northwest Passage in a nonstop voyage from Windsor to Churchill.