US Pacific submarine chief says AUKUS is on plan and ahead of schedule in several areas

The commander of US Pacific Fleet submarine forces said on 12 November that the AUKUS partnership between Australia, Britain and the United States is on plan and ahead of schedule in several areas, Breaking Defense reported. Rear Admiral Chris Cavanaugh made the assessment in remarks to the Submarine League's annual symposium, calling AUKUS the most consequential allied initiative and saying he sees progress on it every day.

Cavanaugh did not specify which parts of the programme are moving faster than planned, according to Breaking Defense. As evidence of progress he pointed to the reactivation of Submarine Squadron 3 earlier this year to support Submarine Rotational Force-West, the allied submarine presence being set up at the Royal Australian Navy base HMAS Stirling near Perth. Stars and Stripes reported that the US Navy revived the squadron in June for that mission.

Under the rotational force, up to four US Virginia-class attack submarines and one British boat are to operate in turn from Stirling. The arrangement sits under the first pillar of AUKUS, which is aimed at giving Australia Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines by 2032 and preparing it to operate and maintain its own conventionally armed, nuclear-powered fleet.

Cavanaugh also referred to USS Colorado, which the three governments named in October as the first Virginia-class boat assigned to the revived squadron. He said the submarine and its crew would return at the end of next year to establish the first rotational force, and described the steps as a build-up of capacity and capability that would benefit all three nations while the partners speed up innovation to widen their undersea advantage.

Colorado arrived at Stirling on 27 October for a month-long scheduled maintenance period, the US Navy said at the time. The service said more than 30 trained and certified Australian civilian technicians from the shipbuilder ASC would carry out routine maintenance on a Virginia-class submarine in Western Australia for the first time, working alongside specialists from Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.

The Navy described the visit as the fourth submarine maintenance period in Western Australia since AUKUS was set up and the third in the previous 12 months. It said the work would make use of new Australian-built infrastructure, including a custom metal safety walkway around the sail and recent upgrades to Stirling's Diamantina Pier, and that the Royal Navy would take part. Stars and Stripes reported that the US embassy in Canberra announced the arrival of the Hawaii-based submarine.

Cavanaugh's remarks followed Maritime Big Play, a trilateral exercise off the California coast under the second AUKUS pillar, which covers jointly developed advanced capabilities. The Royal Navy described the event as the three countries' largest demonstration of interoperable uncrewed and autonomous maritime systems, with more than 40 government and industry technologies on show in San Diego.

According to the Royal Navy, the demonstration centred on anti-submarine warfare, including tracking and surveillance with crewed and autonomous systems, as well as lethality, contested resupply and subsea and seabed warfare. Britain led the anti-submarine strand with uncrewed surface vessels, underwater gliders, drones and subsea vehicles, the service said.