U.S. and Australian sailors stand in formation as the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land prepares to moor at HMAS Stirling, a navy base near Perth, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. (Darek Leary/U.S. Air Force)
An American submarine tender recently arrived in Western Australia, where sailors are training to service U.S. and British nuclear-powered fast-attack boats under a mutual defense pact.
The USS Emory S. Land, a Guam-based tender crewed by American and Australian sailors, pulled into naval base HMAS Stirling, near Perth, on Aug. 16, the Navy announced in a news release that day.
The crew will perform maintenance on a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine over several weeks, the release said, without naming the boat.
“We are unable to provide information on future operations due to operations security concerns,” 7th Fleet spokesman Lt. Jamie Moroney said by email Wednesday.
The 2021 AUKUS agreement — so named for Australia, the United Kingdom and United States — aims to position one British and four U.S. nuclear-powered boats as Submarine Rotational Force-West at HMAS Stirling, according to the Australian Defence Department website.
The defense pact’s first phase is on track to bring the vessels there on a temporary basis within three years, Australia’s nonpartisan Lowy Institute reported last month.
The Emory S. Land’s visit marks a step toward Australia becoming able to operate, maintain and support a fleet of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered boats, according to the Navy release.
“For the last six weeks we’ve had a team of U.S. Sailors embedded in the [Fleet Support Unit] West workshops at HMAS Stirling,” Capt. Brent Spillner, commander of the submarine tender, said in the release.
More than 30 Australian sailors, supervised by U.S. personnel, will perform submarine maintenance. Tasks will include replacing a mast and a hydraulic valve, along with the simulated removal of a pump weighing more than 3,500 pounds, the release said.
It will be the first time Australians have maintained a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine in Australian waters, Spillner said in the release.
“This is an important milestone and learning opportunity as we work together to establish Submarine Rotational Force–West, where both U.S. and UK submarines will regularly transit through HMAS Stirling, with maintenance and logistics assisted by Australian personnel,” he said.
Australian and U.S. sailors have worked side by side on the Emory S. Land to maintain U.S. boats on Guam, Cmdr. Derek Fletcher, repair officer aboard the vessel, said in the release.
Guam is home to the Navy’s only submarine tenders — Emory S. Land and USS Frank Cable — as well as Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines.
The maintainers will also work with the crew of a visiting British navy Astute-class submarine, according to former Australian assistant defense secretary Ross Babbage.
“Essential knowledge and skills gained will equip Australia’s naval personnel to service, maintain and repair the Royal Australian Navy’s own nuclear-powered submarines when they enter service in the early 2030s,” he said by email Monday.
Australia will eventually operate its own submarine tender, a U.S. security expert based in New Zealand, Paul Buchanan, said by email that day.
Navy submarine tenders will continue to support U.S. and British submarines rotating through HMAS Stirling in the lead up to deployment of the AUKUS boats, Buchanan wrote.
“Given the unique qualities of SSNs (nuclear-powered submarines), it is likely that Australia will commission a tender capable of handling the unique requirements of the SSN platforms as well as those of conventional subs,” he said.
