Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Sheean arrives alongside during a logistics port visit of Hobart, Tasmania on April 1, 2021. Royal Australian Navy Photo
Australians should now work shoulder to shoulder with Americans in mastering the building of nuclear submarines while Royal Australian Navy sailors serve on deployed U.S. Navy attack submarines to master their operations at sea, two members of the House Armed Services Committee said Friday.
Improved Kilo-class (Varshavyanka-class) attack submarine. RIA Novosti Photo
Russia has “almost certainly” moved its Black Sea Fleet Kilo-class submarines from Sevastopol, Crimea, to the Novorossiysk port in Krasnodar Krai, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense announced in a Tuesday intelligence report.
Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), left, conducts a replenishment-at-sea with Supply-class fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE-6), in the Ionian Sea on May 6, 2022. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON – The Navy quietly slipped a new, classified assessment on the number of ships the service needs to meet its missions around the world to Congress earlier this month. The report calls for a battle force of 373 ships – 75 more than in the current fleet. Read More
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG-111), left, USS America (LHA-6), and Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), transit the Philippine Sea on Jan. 22, 2022. US Navy Photo
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The U.S. Navy needs a fleet of more than 500 ships to meet its commitments to the soon-to-be released National Defense Strategy, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said on Friday. Read More
Sailors assigned to Navy Talent Acquisition Group Philadelphia participate in the Navywide E-7 advancement exam held at Navy Operational Support Center in New Castle, Del., on Jan. 19. US Navy Photo
The Navy is offering recruitment bonuses of up to $50,000 as a new incentive, the sea service announced Friday. Read More
Collins-class attack boats HMAS Dechaineux leads HMAS Waller and HMAS Sheean in formation in Cockburn Sound, near Rockingham Western Australia in 2013. RAN Photo
The effort to build Australia’s fleet of nuclear attack submarines could take decades to both design the boats and create the shipbuilding capacity and adequate oversight to support the effort, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said on Thursday. Read More
The French design of the Attack-class submarine that was canceled by Australia last week. Naval Group image
Australia’s decision to turn to Washington and London for nuclear-powered submarines to bolster its security was a “no brainer” for Canberra, but it is a decision that “went terribly wrong” with NATO partners, an expert in European defense matters said Tuesday. Read More
USS Vermont (SSN-792) transits the Thames River while conducting routine operations on Oct. 15, 2020. US Navy Photo
Australia’s defense minister said his country entered a new trilateral agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom because “we needed a nuclear-powered submarine for regional superiority,” adding more American deployments of forces, “aircraft of all types” and providing logistical and sustainment facilities for U.S. Navy ships can be expected in the future. Read More
Proposed Attack-class submarine for the Australian Navy. DCNS Photo
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Australia’s surprise move to procure nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) with U.S. and U.K. follows difficulties the country has experienced on its SEA 1000 Attack-class future submarine program and the realization that a conventionally powered submarine (SSK) will not meet its future needs, a regional defense expert told USNI News. Read More
Trafalgar-class attack submarine HMS Triumph, glides into HM Naval Base Clyde. Royal Navy Photo
This story has been updated with remarks from President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The U.S. plans to share its submarine nuclear propulsion technology with a top ally in the Indo-Pacific, as countries in the region look for ways to hedge against China. Read More
