Login
iscover
Defence Minister Richard Marles and Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond have announced that 37 Australian Navy sailors and officers will embed with the US Navy’s submarine tender USS Emory S Land to build critical nuclear-powered submarine skills.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
As part of preparing for the arrival of the first US and UK nuclear-powered submarines as part of Submarine Rotational Force-West (SRF-W) from 2027, the three AUKUS partners announced in December 2023 that Australian sailors would commence duty in Guam from early-2024.
Australian Navy personnel will now spend up to five months on board USS Emory S Land integrating with and learning from US sailors in order to build the unique knowledge, skills, and experience in how the US conducts nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) maintenance.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, the Honourable Richard Marles MP welcomed this announcement, saying, “The opportunity for our Navy personnel to learn from our AUKUS partners demonstrates meaningful progress along Australia’s pathway to acquiring nuclear-powered submarines.”
This valuable workforce training opportunity is an important milestone in developing the workforce needed to support Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarine capability.
Additionally, this training embed will also enable the Royal Australian Navy to support the first planned maintenance activity of a US SSN during a visit to HMAS Stirling in the second half of this year.
“The maintenance of a United States nuclear-powered submarine at HMAS Stirling in the second half of the year will be an important milestone in the development of skills within Australia’s submarine and industry workforces," the Deputy Prime Minister added.
Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, AO, RAN, stressed the importance of the training embed for Australian sailors, echoing the sentiment of the Deputy Prime Minister, saying, “The skills, knowledge and experience gained in Guam alongside our United States Navy partners will afford our people the opportunity to undertake some of the most complex maintenance on a United States SSN.”
This training and development of Royal Australian Navy personnel builds on a program of work already underway for Australian Defence Force personnel and civilians to gain valuable education and experience in US and UK shipyards and facilities.
“This is an exciting step forward in developing our workforce skill sets so that the Royal Australian Navy is ready to support, maintain and operate Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarine capability,” VADM Hammond explained further.
Australia remains committed to upholding the highest non-proliferation standard in its acquisition of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.
