US Names USS Colorado First Sub for Australia Force in 2027
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles, and British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting jointly announced the move, the Pentagon said. The announcement comes just before a submarine maintenance period due to start later this week.
Maintenance period tests Australia’s capacity
The work is expected to show that Australia is increasingly able to service American and British nuclear-powered attack submarines under AUKUS, the security partnership among the three nations.
Up to five submarines at HMAS Stirling
The new unit, Submarine Rotational Force-West (SRF-West), will be based at HMAS Stirling, a Royal Australian Navy facility in Western Australia. The base is expected to rotate through up to four US attack submarines and one British attack submarine.
The effort falls under AUKUS Pillar I, which is meant to help Australia obtain conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.
Building a future fleet
The rotations are designed to give Australia the technical expertise, infrastructure and regulatory capabilities required to operate and maintain its own submarines. They will also broaden maintenance capacity across the region and support submarine deployments by all three partners.
“The selection of USS Colorado (SSN 788) as the first submarine assigned to SRF-West in 2027 marks a significant milestone for AUKUS Pillar I and is a decisive step in strengthening collective deterrence in the Pacific,” the Pentagon statement said.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
