The Australian Navy will need to send hundreds of sailors to train at overseas facilities before the its nuclear-powered submarines come into service.

March 15, 2023

The US Navy has shown off its submarine fleet’s nuclear capability and firepower, with federal ministers, top ranking Royal Australian Navy personnel and diplomats taking a ride off the WA coast.

The head of Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine taskforce Rear Admiral Matt Buckley joined US submarine group commander Rear Admiral Rick Seif onboard the USS Asheville on Wednesday.

Also on the trip in waters off Perth were the Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans Affairs Matt Keogh, the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King and the RAN’s Head of Navy Engineering, Rear Admiral Rachel Durbin.

They were joined by UK Consul General Perth Tina Redshaw, the UK High Commissioner Victoria Treadell and the Federal Member for Solomon Luke Gosling, with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles expected to visit the submarine on Thursday.

Rear Admiral Buckley told reporters during a day-long tour of the attack submarine that Australia would need to send crews overseas for training before its US nuclear-powered submarines arrived in 2033.

He said six officers were already undertaking naval nuclear training at US and UK facilities and hundreds more would follow as the navy raced to prepare to operate and maintain the nuclear reactors in the Virginia class of submarines.

“Over the next decade or so we’ll be training our officer and sailors at nuclear power school in the US at Charleston but also at the equivalent school in the UK,” he said,

Rear Admiral Buckley said the exact number of submariners that could be trained at the US and UK facilities was still being worked out with the two nations.

“Obviously we need to balance that with some folks going to the UK and some to the US,” he said.

“I expect early on slightly more numbers in the US given the Virginias will be the first (nuclear-powered) submarines that we operate.”

He said the RAN would aim to build its own naval nuclear propulsion training facility in the 2030s, but details for the model were yet to be worked out.

“Clearly we’ve got a bit of work to do on exactly how that’s going to be scaled, how we do it, but that’s certainly our intent,” he said.

Rear Admiral Buckley said WA, where the nation’s submarine school is already based, was likely to be a strong contender as a location.

But details about whether the navy will favour a university partnership or keep the training in-house are yet to be worked out.

About 3300 nuclear-trained submariners would be required by the 2050s when Australia will take ownership of the new generation of UK-built AUKUS class submarines, he said.