The USS Emory S Land arrives at HMAS Stirling in WA on 16 August. Photos: ADF.
In the 18 months since it began, almost all of the effort expended on the AUKUS construct between Australia, the UK and the US has been focused on refining the terms of the agreement and sending the first cadres of Royal Australian Navy and Australian defence industry personnel to the US and UK for training.
But one of the first tangible ‘’hands-on’’ milestones of the agreement will soon start at the HMAS Stirling navy base near Henderson in WA, with the first US Navy Submarine Tendered Maintenance Period (STMP) to be conducted outside of US waters and by non-US Citizens.
In January this year, more than 30 RAN officers and sailors embarked aboard the US Navy’s submarine tender USS Emory S Land to train on how to conduct nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) maintenance and replenishment. In recent weeks, the ship has made port visits to Darwin, Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
On 16 August, it arrived at Rockingham near Perth and, on 22 August, was joined by the US Navy Virginia-class submarine USS Hawaii. While in WA, the crew of the ‘‘ESL’’ – including its RAN complement – will conduct maintenance on the Hawaii.
The STMP is a major milestone in the lead-up to the establishment of the AUKUS Pillar 1 Submarine Rotational Force – West (SRF-West), which is scheduled to start in 2027 and will see US and UK Royal Navy SSNs regularly conduct deployments to HMAS Stirling.
Interestingly, the USS Hawaii also has an Australian crew member, an exchange officer who graduated from the US Navy’s prestigious Submarine Officer Basic Course and naval nuclear training in the US in 2023.
While the STMP is underway, workers from Australia’s ASC will provide support services and continue their SSN maintenance learning experience.
The work to be conducted under the STMP includes the replacement of the submarine’s mast, a new hydraulic valve, the removal of a 1500 kg pump, and simulated radiological training evolutions.
USS Emory S Land during a port visit to Sydney in late June.
Director-General of the Australian Submarine Agency, Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead, said the STMP was a significant step forward in building Australia’s skills base to operate its own SSNs next decade.
“The unique training Australian industry and Defence personnel are receiving at US and UK naval bases, shipyards, training facilities and submarines is a great strength of the AUKUS partnership, and we are already seeing the training being applied right here in Australia,” he said.
“The STMP is also an important opportunity to measure the progress Australia and our AUKUS partners are making as we develop not just our workforce, but also our infrastructure, our stewardship capabilities, and our supply chain.”
Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond said the STMP was a testament to the friendship and trust that had been built between the Australian, UK and US navies and underpinned the AUKUS partnership.
“The STMP is the AUKUS partnership in action,” he said. “Working together, navy to navy, to share our knowledge, strengthen our skills, and keep our countries safe, secure and strong.
“I congratulate the navy officers and sailors aboard USS Emory S. Land and USS Hawaii. I know that they will make the navy, their families and our countries proud.”
The Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine USS Hawaii arrives at HMAS Stirling on 22 August.
The Commander of the United States Submarine Force, Rear Admiral Rick Sheif, described HMAS Stirling as the centre of gravity for AUKUS.
“We are incredibly excited about this AUKUS security partnership and I am happy to report that AUKUS is real, it is happening now, it is not something that’s way in the distant future, it is happening, and we are on schedule and we are on plan,” he said.
“This submarine tender maintenance period is noteworthy as an AUKUS Pillar 1 milestone on the path to Australia becoming sovereign-ready to operate, maintain and support a fleet of conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines.”
In a joint statement with Secretary of State for Defence John Healey and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles described the STMP as a historic milestone for the partnership.
“Over the last year, Australian personnel have undergone training provided by the US and the UK to understand how to safely operate, maintain and regulate Australia’s future conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) capability, to be delivered under AUKUS,” they said.
“Through this activity, uniformed and civilian personnel from our three nations will work together to transfer knowledge and skills necessary to set us on the trajectory to establish Submarine Rotational Force – West (SRF-West) and accelerate Australia’s efforts to be ‘sovereign-ready’ to own and operate its own sovereign SSN capability.
“Australians are now learning, and serving, alongside their shipmates in both the Royal Navy and US Navy’s submarine forces, in their training establishments, gaining the knowledge and experience needed to support and operate future Royal Australian Navy SSNs.”
