SYDNEY, April 22 (Reuters) - Shares in little known

Australian steelmaker Bisalloy have risen some 40%

since December on the back of a series of defence deals signed

as part of the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal between Australia,

Britain and the United States.

Defence contractors large and small are looking at the A$368

billion ($237 billion) plan to build Australia a fleet of

nuclear-powered submarines as a decades-long source of work.

Australia will build the vessels to a British design with U.S.

technology.

Bisalloy said earlier this month it had signed a deal to

sell a shipment of steel to part of U.S. shipbuilder Huntington

Ingalls Industries ( HII ), maker of the U.S. Virginia-class

submarine. Shares rose 6.7% on the day and are up just over 10%

this month versus a 3.1% decline for the index.

Australia will buy up to 5 Virginia-class submarines from

its close ally in the 2030s as a stopgap while it builds its new

fleet.

In mid-December, Bisalloy also announced it had won a

contract, worth up to A$15 million, to qualify its steel for use

in Australia's AUKUS fleet. Shares are up 44% since the news.

"The response from markets reflects the positive trajectory

we've been on for the past few years," CEO Rowan Melrose told

Reuters on Monday. "We're delivering and we're getting great

results."

BAE Systems won a 4 billion pound contract to

design the AUKUS submarine last October and will also build the

fleet in Australia, although it has not disclosed the size of

that contract.

Bisalloy's steel will be used for training and testing at

the U.S. shipyards, the company said.

($1 = 1.5557 Australian dollars)