US Embassy, Canberra, Australia reported, April 24, 2022:
"The United States Navy submarine USS Springfield (SSN 761) has arrived [at HMAS Stirling aka Fleet Base West, at Rockingham, just south of Perth, Western Australia] for a scheduled port visit.
[Los Angeles class, SSN] Springfield is forward-deployed to the Pacific island of Guam and routinely operates in the Indo-Pacific, conducting maritime security operations and supporting national security interests."
[Since March 21, 2022, USS Springfield has been in Submarine Squadron 15 based at Naval Base Guam (Apra Harbour).]
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5 days ago US Embassy, Canberra, reported:
"...The submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) [also normally based at Guam] is visiting HMAS Stirling Naval Base near Rockingham as part of routine operations in the Indo-Pacific region...."
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For further details see APDR article of May 3, 2022: "Emory S. Land-class submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) completed her first weapons handling exercise involving the transfer of an inert training shape to a U.S. Navy submarine at HMAS Stirling Naval Base in Australia in late April. The exercise included the transfer of a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) inert training shape. Moored alongside Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Springfield (SSN 761),..."
Pete Comment
As far as I'm aware this is the first US SSN port visit to Australia since the AUKUS submarine plan was announced in September, 2021.
It is possible this US SSN visit reflects an opening up of Australia's AUKUS submarine purchasing plans.
To date the Australian Federal Government has been strongly channeling purchase of UK Astutes or UK Astute Replacements (SSNRs). Note the photo here and HMS Astute's October 29. 2021, visit to Fleet Base West, which, unlike USS Springfield's visit, strongly featured senior Australian politicians, like Defence Minister Peter Dutton.
Also see record of all known US subs at "US Nuclear Subs Visiting Fleet Base
West, WA since 2005" of May 31, 2015 here.
2 comments:
I understand that Australia is a partner it the Mk48 torpedo development program and now has the ability and authority to construct its own additional torpedos locally. If we could achieve the same capability with Tomahawk missiles via the sovereign missile manufacturing program, it would seem feasible for US SSNs to be able to be fully provisioned and restocked at Australian naval bases like FBW.
The inclusion of the USS Frank Cable in the visit is interesting. Looking forward to the AUKUS program there would also be considerable benefit to RAN sub maintenance teams seeing what equipment was on the USS Frank Cable and seeing if we could build similar locally.
Hi Anonymous [at Apr 25, 2022, 10:11:00 AM] re Missiles under AUKUS and Submarine Tenders
Yes Australia has been a partner to the US nuclear submarine Combat System Program consisting of sensors, computer databases, communications and also US weapons including Mark 48 torpedoes and Harpoon anti-ship missiles for many years.
I don't know if Australia would be up to constructing Mark 48s and Harpoons for RAN and USN use.
The US uses a worldwide weapon and ammunition prepositioning system. Australia's Fleet Base West (FBW) may potentially be, or already be, the site of US conventional submarine weapon reloads.
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Australia building Tomahawk long range anti-ship and land attack missiles may be a project under AUKUS sovereign missile.
The Aus-US hypersonic development manufacturing program under AUKUS is more certain. That program includes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCIFiRE :
"SCIFIRE or the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment is an American-Australian military technology partnership that is developing a solid-rocket boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic conventional cruise missile that can be launched by existing fighter or bomber aircraft."
A small rocket boost stage for firing a SCIFIRE variant from submarines, surface ships and land launchers may make sense.
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The USN siting another Emory S. Land-class submarine tender (of which USS Frank Cable is one) or the next US submarine tender class at FBW make sense to attract more US nuke subs and promote interoperation among US and Aus nuke subs.
Yes Australia could buy an Emory S. Land-class submarine tender or replacement class from the US to handle nuke and Collins subs. This is especially if Aus has bought US Virginia SSNs.
Don't tell anyone the Morrison Government wrote this BUT Morrison says:
"It would be too risky to build a one-off submarine tender in Australia as shipbuilding unions here have long set their sights on restarting an Australian commercial style shipbuilding industry that would be/has been immensely inefficient and held to ransom by the union movement."
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