SHIPBUILDINGHow to Help the U.S. Navy as It Helps Us: Build a Joint Submarine Facility

By Michael Pezzullo

There’s a way for Australia to strengthen its case for the US presidential certification it will need for acquiring Virginia-class submarines. It should do so by accelerating construction of a planned shipyard in Western Australia and using it to help get US submarines out of a long maintenance queue.

Australia’s acquisition of three submarines from the United States’ stretched fleet and building yards could be offset by the additional operational availability of three US boats. The Australian yard would also improve support for US submarine operations in the Indo-Pacific.

By law, the US president will have to certify to Congress that transferring Virginia-class submarines to Australia will not degrade the US Navy’s undersea warfare capability. That certification will have to be provided no later than 270 days prior to the first transfer, which is scheduled for 2032.

The president will have to certify that the US and Australia are sufficiently investing in the submarine production and maintenance base to meet the requirements of both nations. This will require the current building rate of 1.2 Virginias a year to rise to 2.3 boats a year by 2032, which Australia will help achieve.

Australia could go further. It could reinforce the argument for certification by bringing forward the building of the shipyard planned for Henderson, Western Australia. Better still, Australia could establish this shipyard, by treaty, as a joint Australian-US facility, in recognition of its vital role in the alliance, which could be at least as significant as the contribution of the Pine Gap satellite ground station.

Why would such a joint facility be of value to the US? While Australians see AUKUS as a vehicle by which to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, the US sees it as a means for unlocking access to a vital operating location for its own submarines. This will be achieved by the rotational deployment to HMAS Stirling of four US submarines from 2027 under the Submarine Rotation Force—West (SRF-W) program.

Being able to operate routinely in the Indian Ocean without having to transit the congested littoral waters of Southeast Asia and in the Western Pacific in times of tension and conflict is of immense strategic value to the US. Being able to operate from HMAS Stirling with assured access to a nearby submarine maintenance facility at Henderson would, for the US, be better still. The US has no naval shipyard of its own west of Hawaii where it can maintain its submarines.