Friday, 4 July 2025
Australians are gaining vital experience and training in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, operating alongside their United States counterparts in preparation for Submarine Rotational Force–West (SRF-West).
More than 150 personnel from Australia’s submarine company ASC(Opens in a new tab/window) have been acquiring first-hand maintenance experience on nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines, which will commence rotating out of HMAS Stirling, Western Australia (WA) in 2027.
SRF-West will mark a major AUKUS milestone, helping ensure Australia has the capability to safely and securely operate, maintain and regulate a fleet of its own conventionally-armed nuclear-powered submarines from the early 2030s.
Director-General of the Australian Submarine Agency (ASA), Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead, visited Pearl Harbor last week and met with the current cohort of ASC workers; one year since the first cohort arrived(Opens in a new tab/window) in Hawaii.
‘It’s fantastic to see Australia’s submarine industrial workforce benefitting from decades of US experience in safe naval nuclear propulsion,’ said Vice Admiral Mead.
‘These collaboration and upskilling initiatives are critical to building Australia’s expertise to support nuclear-powered submarines and uplift our industrial capacity.
‘It’s inspiring to think that these Australians will return home with the skills and knowledge that will form the core of our future-ready workforce equipped to sustain our very own Virginia-class submarines in Western Australia.
‘AUKUS benefits all three nations. The alliance will see more resilient trilateral supply chains that will support greater production and maintenance, meaning more boats in the water faster.’
Vice Admiral Mead also met with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) divers who have been training with Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility dive teams since May 2024(Opens in a new tab/window) to gain experience operating around Virginia-class submarines. The training will be put into practice during the next Virginia-class submarine visit to HMAS Stirling.
‘I know first-hand the extensive specialist training our RAN divers already go through and this specialist training provides more opportunities to work side by side with our US counterparts,’ said Vice Admiral Mead, who served as a clearance diving officer earlier in his career.
Four US fast-attack submarines have visited WA since the announcement of the Optimal Pathway in March 2023: USS Minnesota, USS Hawaii, USS Annapolis and USS North Carolina.
Submarine tender, USS Emory S. Land, has also visited HMAS Stirling, giving more than 30 RAN officers and sailors the opportunity to build knowledge, skills and experience on how the United States conducts nuclear-powered submarine maintenance. The visit in August 2024(Opens in a new tab/window) marked the first time Australian personnel directly participated in the maintenance of a nuclear-powered submarine in Australia.
The upskilling and training of the Australian workforce is a key objective of SRF-West, which will involve military and civilian personnel from the United Kingdom and the United States living and working alongside Australians in WA.
Australian sailors will deploy on UK and US boats rotating through HMAS Stirling to develop at-sea experience with naval nuclear propulsion, while Australian maintenance personnel will support these conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines alongside.
Learn more about SRF-West at www.asa.gov.au.