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Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom have finalized key arrangements to establish a permanent allied submarine presence in Western Australia and announced their first joint advanced unmanned undersea systems programme under the AUKUS security partnership.
The grouping has confirmed that AUKUS Pillar I remains on track to deliver Australia’s future capability of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.
Meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and UK Defense Secretary John Healey confirmed that Submarine Rotational Force-West (SRF-West) will be formally established in 2027 at HMAS Stirling.
SRF-West is designed to support allied submarine deployments in the Indo-Pacific by expanding maintenance capacity, logistics, and sustainment infrastructure in the region. Officials said it will also accelerate Australia’s ability to own, operate, maintain and regulate a sovereign nuclear-powered submarine fleet.
The United States confirmed it has authorized the establishment of support elements for SRF-West and will begin rotating US Navy personnel to HMAS Stirling later this year. The United Kingdom reaffirmed its commitment to maintain a rotational presence under the arrangement and highlighted recent progress, including a successful Submarine Maintenance Period conducted by HMS ANSON.
Officials said SRF-West will expand regional maintenance and sustainment capacity, supporting long-term deployments and accelerating Australia’s development of a sovereign nuclear-powered submarine capability under AUKUS.
Australia also confirmed major infrastructure commitments linked to the programme, including investments at HMAS Stirling and additional funding for submarine construction and maintenance facilities across South Australia and Western Australia.
Alongside the submarine initiative, the three nations unveiled their first “Signature Project” under AUKUS Pillar II: a joint programme to develop payloads and enabling systems for uncrewed undersea vehicles (UUVs). Deliveries are expected to begin in 2027, with applications spanning surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasures, and protection of undersea infrastructure such as cables and pipelines.
Officials said the initiative represents a shift toward faster technological integration across allied defense industries and will broaden license-free defense trade between the three countries by streamlining export controls on selected technologies.
The partners also reaffirmed progress on the SSN-AUKUS submarine design programme and said the expanded cooperation is intended to strengthen deterrence and operational interoperability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Australia also outlined major infrastructure investments supporting the programme, including up to AUD 8 billion for SRF-West facilities at HMAS Stirling, AUD 3.9 billion for a new submarine construction yard in South Australia, and AUD 12 billion for the Henderson Defense Precinct, which will provide contingency docking and depot-level maintenance capabilities.
The ministers also welcomed a streamlined approach to Australia’s planned acquisition of Virginia-class submarines, under which Canberra would acquire three in-service boats instead of a mixed fleet of new and used variants. Officials said the change is intended to simplify logistics, reduce maintenance complexity, and improve cost efficiency.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Secretaries reaffirmed the critical importance of accelerating the delivery of advanced capabilities under AUKUS Pillar II. They announced the first AUKUS Pillar II Signature Project: developing cutting-edge payloads and enabling systems for AUKUS partners’ Uncrewed Undersea Vehicles (UUVs), with delivery starting in 2027.
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