Sailors assigned to Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Minnesota — the type Australia plans to purchase from the United States — cast heaving lines as the ship prepares to moor at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, May 15, 2026. (Zachary Guth/U.S. Navy)
U.S. military personnel will begin rotating to Western Australia later this year ahead of the planned deployment of American and British nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS security partnership, defense leaders announced over the weekend.
The move marks a key milestone in preparation for Submarine Rotational Force-West, or SRF-West, which will station up to four U.S. Navy submarines and one British submarine at HMAS Stirling, an Australian naval base near Perth, beginning next year.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles, and U.K. Defense Minister John Healey announced the plan Saturday following a meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore.
“This month, the United States authorized establishment of the U.S. Navy support elements for SRF-West and will begin rotating the first U.S. Navy personnel to HMAS Stirling later this year,” the three leaders said in a joint statement.
U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force, headquartered at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, did not immediately respond to a request for additional details on Sunday.
The defense leaders also announced changes to Australia’s planned acquisition of Virginia-class submarines from the United States.
Under the revised plan, Australia will acquire three used vessels rather than the previously announced combination of two used and one newly built boat.
Marles told reporters Saturday that the new plan is simpler and cheaper since all of Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines will be the same, according to a Sunday report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
“We don’t get the additional cost and complexity of operating a one-off submarine which is different to all the rest,” he said.
The submarine rotational force is intended to help Australia develop the expertise and infrastructure necessary to operate its own conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.
The program has already seen activity at HMAS Stirling. The United Kingdom’s HMS Anson, an Astute-class nuclear-powered submarine, underwent maintenance there earlier this year. The USS Vermont, a Virginia-class fast-attack submarine, also completed maintenance at the base late last year.
Australia has committed billions of dollars to support the effort, including more than $5.7 billion for infrastructure and logistics improvements at HMAS Stirling — $2.8 billion toward construction of a submarine shipyard in South Australia and $8.6 billion for the Henderson Defense Precinct, a shipbuilding and sustainment hub south of Perth.
