The Stirling base in Australia is preparing for the deployment of U.S. nuclear-powered attack submarines starting next year. As the first submarine base established by the United States overseas in half a century, it will serve as a strategic port for projecting U.S. military power deep into Asia. A key advantage of Stirling over existing U.S. bases is that it lies beyond the range of all but China’s most advanced land-based conventional missiles, while being significantly closer to Asian waters than other U.S. submarine facilities. Australia has already invested $1.5 billion in constructing the base and plans an additional $4.1 billion in funding. The U.S. forces stationed at Stirling will be known as the “Western Submarine Rotational Force” (SRF-W). This initiative is part of Phase One of the AUKUS agreement and represents its first major milestone, enabling Australian naval personnel to train on operating Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines. U.S. personnel will deploy alongside the submarines and conduct maintenance operations at Stirling. The USS Colorado arrived at the base on October 28 and underwent Australian-led maintenance before permanently returning in late 2027.
AUKUS continues to face substantial challenges. After the agreement was signed, planners realized the immense scale of the undertaking. Both U.S. and British shipyards, already in poor condition, require significant investment to meet new production targets—some of which are being funded by Australia. Of the total $6.2 billion pledged by Australia, $2.6 billion has already been delivered, but this falls far short of what is needed to achieve required output increases. To fulfill the goal of delivering three to five Virginia-class submarines to the Australian Navy and deploying them at Stirling by the early 2030s, shipyards in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Virginia must increase annual output from 1.2 to 2.3 vessels by 2031. Failure to do so would prevent the United States from fulfilling its delivery commitments. The situation may be even more difficult for British shipyards and nuclear industries. If neither the United States nor Britain can expand their shipbuilding capacity, they risk leaving Australia with a nuclear-powered submarine base lacking any nuclear-powered submarines.
Image source: internet
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1881537661762762/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.