UK First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Ben Key, RAN Chief of Navy Vice-Admiral Mark Hammond and US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti at HMAS Stirling. Photo: ADF.
The chiefs of the Royal Australian Navy, US Navy, and the UK’s Royal Navy have met on the sidelines of this week’s Indian Ocean Defence and Security 2024 Conference in Perth.
The meeting was hosted at HMAS Stirling at Henderson near Fremantle by RAN Chief of Navy Vice-Admiral Mark Hammond, where he welcomed US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, and the UK First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Ben Key.
The visit to Stirling was the first for the US and UK chiefs. The base will play a major role in the AUKUS Pillar 1 agreement between the three countries, as it will host forward-deployed US and UK nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) from 2027, and will be the initial base for the RAN’s own Virginia-class SSNs from 2032.
The three chiefs toured the base’s facilities, went on board the RAN Collins-class submarine HMAS Dechaineux, and then signed a ‘Statement of Intent for Lethality’ which recorded the three navies’ collective commitment to the enhanced lethality of their surface combatant and submarine fleets.
Vice Admiral Hammond said he and his counterparts reaffirmed the philosophy of putting the partnership into action and continuing to build on the historic friendship between the navies.
“Our navies operate on shared behaviours, shared values, and a shared commitment to the success and security of the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
“Working together is how we get the best outcomes for our navies and nations, through personnel exchange programs and operational interchangeability at sea.
“Only this month we had our first Royal Australian Navy officers graduating from the Royal Navy’s nuclear reactor course. This year our technicians have been training and learning unique skills with the US Navy in Guam and embedded on-board the US Submarine Tender, USS Emory S Land.”
Admirals Key and Franchetti and Vice-Admiral Hammond with Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy (left) and Defence Minister Richard Marles (right) at the Indian Ocean Defence and Security 2024 Conference in Perth. Photo: ADF.
The USS Emory S Land is currently touring Australian ports and is scheduled to arrive at HMAS Stirling early next month to prepare to conduct a servicing of a US Navy Virginia class SSN.
Admiral Franchetti described AUKUS as a once in a generation opportunity to bring together the exceptional capabilities of Australia, the UK and the US.
“We will continue to build on our relationship, strengths, and interoperability, while at the same time uplifting the industrial bases of our three countries,” she said.
“We will bring to bear the innovative spirit of our three nations while significantly bolstering our posture in the Indo-Pacific, contributing to security and stability, and maintaining the rules-based international order in this critical region and around the globe.”
Admiral Key said the building on longstanding, deep-rooted relationships, and the unique level of trust and cooperation between the three countries was cause to celebrate the success of AUKUS thus far.
“AUKUS is a strategically important capability collaboration, allowing us to pool expertise to accelerate the development of cutting-edge defence capabilities in a way that we could not do alone,” he said.
“Alongside the USN, the RN is committed to ensuring the RAN can build on its proven experience of operating conventional powered submarines to be nuclear capable as well. We have recently welcomed RAN personnel onto our nuclear courses and to serve in our Astute class submarines and we look forward to sharing the next generation of SSNs in a collaborative build program which will shape our partnership for many decades to come.”
