USS Hawaii (SSN 776) departed HMAS Stirling after a submarine maintenance period in Western Australia.
HMAS STIRLING, Western Australia, Australia (Sept. 10, 2024) — The Virginia-class attack submarine USS Hawaii (SSN 776) departed HMAS Stirling today, marking the conclusion of a historic submarine maintenance period in Western Australia. As part of the Australia, United Kingdom, United States (AUKUS) Pillar 1 effort, Royal Australian Navy personnel assigned to submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) worked alongside their U.S. Navy counterparts to make repairs on the U.S. Virginia-class SSN in Australia during a multi-week Submarine Tendered Maintenance Period, or STMP.
“This is the first time since World War II that the U.S. has conducted submarine maintenance in Australian waters, and certainly the first instance in history of a joint American-Australian team performing maintenance on a nuclear-powered attack submarine,” said Rear Adm. Lincoln Reifsteck, U.S. Navy AUKUS Integration and Acquisition program manager. “The importance of this event cannot be overstated. These last few weeks provided essential maintenance and stewardship experience for our Australian partners in advance of establishing a sovereign SSN force in Australia.”
The STMP represents a significant step toward achieving the AUKUS Pillar 1 objective of delivering a sovereign, conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarine capability to Australia. During the STMP, the crew of Emory S. Land and Hawaii performed routine and emergent maintenance and conducted training that included diving operations to inspect the torpedo tube muzzle doors, towed array system, and the simulated movement of a large pump weighing more than 3,500 pounds from within the boat. Royal Navy Sailors observed the STMP maintenance events to integrate learning opportunities for future U.K. SSN port visits to Western Australia.
The maintenance period also featured nuclear stewardship exercises, as well as firefighting exercises and drills. These training evolutions allowed Australian radiological controls policy makers to observe how the U.S. Navy safely handles simulated low-level radiological material as a means to increase their knowledge and enhance their understanding of radiological stewardship.
“Successfully completing the STMP means the Royal Australian Navy has taken a major step forward in our ability to maintain and sustain SSNs,” said Rear Adm. Matt Buckley, Head of Nuclear Submarine Capability within the Australian Submarine Agency. “For the first time, Australian personnel undertook maintenance on a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarine in our own waters. As we continue to conduct more frequent SSN visits to HMAS Stirling the amount of work conducted by Australians will grow as we build our sovereign capabilities.”
“Each SSN visit to HMAS Stirling has a set of goals and objectives, with each one designed to demonstrate increasing capabilities and stewardship,” said Rear Adm. Chris Shepherd, the U.K.’s Defence Nuclear Organization AUKUS Director and Senior Responsible Owner for the Replacement Nuclear Submarine Program. “The STMP demonstrated the synergy we have within the trilateral partners and sets us up for future port visits.”
AUKUS is a strategic partnership that will promote a safe, free, and open Indo-Pacific, enhance national security, and uplift the industrial bases of the three nations. AUKUS Pillar 1 is assisting Australia in acquiring a sovereign conventionally armed SSN capability by the early 2030s. The AUKUS I&A Program Office is responsible for executing the trilateral partnership to assist Australia in acquiring conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarines at the earliest possible date, while setting the highest nuclear stewardship standards and continuing to maintain the highest non-proliferation standard.