United States Ambassador to Australia David Brat toured the U.S. Navy submarine USS Colorado at HMAS Stirling near Rockingham on November 12. It was the first stop of his first visit to Western Australia since he took up the post in September.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles, Western Australian Premier Roger Cook, federal Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy, Resources Minister Madeleine King, Western Australian Minister Assisting the Defense Industries Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson and UK Chargé d’Affaires Jennifer Cole joined Brat on the tour of the Virginia-class submarine.
U.S. Embassy Canberra said the conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine is in Perth for a scheduled maintenance period under AUKUS, the security pact between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. It will return next year as the first vessel under Submarine Rotational Force-West.
Brat said he was “in awe of the American engineering” behind U.S. submarines, which he described as the most technologically advanced and capable undersea platforms in the world. Through AUKUS, he said, the three nations were “deterring aggression in the Indo-Pacific” and protecting the freedom of the seas on which their economies and security depend.
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The delegation also visited Australia’s new Submarine Training Center. According to the embassy, an American-made simulator there will help train the workforce for Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarines. Speaking to media at the facility, Brat thanked the Australian and American service members present and said that while people see the submarines, “it’s the people who bring this tremendous partnership alive.”
Over his two days in Perth, Brat hosted more than 50 Western Australian government and business leaders for talks on critical minerals, energy, supply chain resilience and defense. He said strong commercial partnerships were “vital to strengthening our alliance” and to delivering lasting economic benefits for both countries.
Brat finished the visit at the WA State Tennis Center in Burswood. There he played Matt Ebden, an Australian Grand Slam doubles champion and Olympic gold medalist, in what the embassy called a “friendly and humbling match.” Sport has been a theme of Brat’s posting from the start. When he arrived, he said both nations were “crazy about sports” and that he was keen to get to tennis, rugby league, AFL, rugby and cricket.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Brat on August 7, 2026. He presented his credentials to Governor-General Sam Mostyn AC at Government House in Canberra on September 29, becoming the 28th U.S. Ambassador to Australia. The embassy has listed his priorities as deepening the defense relationship, advancing AUKUS, strengthening cooperation on critical minerals and expanding trade and investment.
Brat is a former two-term congressman who represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District from 2014 to 2019. Before this posting, he was Senior Vice President of Business Relations at Liberty University in Virginia. He holds a doctorate in economics and was previously Professor and Chair of Economics at Randolph-Macon College.
