US Naval Operations chief Admiral Daryl Caudle confirms WA will house first nuclear-powered sub by 2032

The head of the US Navy has declared his country can lift its lagging submarine production rate to a sufficient level to allow for the sale of nuclear-powered boats to Australia early next decade. Under the AUKUS agreement the Royal Australian Navy is expected to start receiving second-hand Virginia-class submarines from the US in the early 2030s, but only if American shipyards can produce more than two new boats per year for its own fleet. Currently the United States is only managing to complete one new nuclear-powered submarine each year, and Australia has already contributed $4.5 billion to help improve America’s production rates. In a visit to Perth’s HMAS Stirling base to meet with local authorities and strengthen the AUKUS trilateral partnership, US Naval Operations Chief Admiral Daryl Caudle expressed confidence the ambitious hurdle can be met. The Australian Government has already invested $8b into transforming HMAS Stirling into a “nuclear-ready” facility, with up to four US nuclear submarines scheduled to begin a rotational presence at the naval base from next year. WA is relying on AUKUS to justify the mammoth upgrade, which is predicted to create around 10,000 new jobs. Admiral Caudle — who was appointed to the top job by the new Trump administration in August — said he was “very pleased” with the construction timeline at HMAS Stirling. “I wouldn’t say (construction is) ahead, but it’s certainly not behind, and I’m very pleased with where we’ve come,” he told local media. “There’s lots of construction going on the base, we’re seeing all the facilities that we need, from secure locations, the maintenance facility and the emergency command centre. “I got to tour . . . the barracks that are on the base, where the sailors will live on the base, what they will experience (including the) galley, canteen and eating facilities.” Admiral Caudle said the US would obey its promise to rotate four Virginia-class submarines as part of Submarine Rotational Force-West. “You’re going to see us stick to the agreement here of what we’ve committed to,” he said. “I wouldn’t say (the number of submarines) is going to get bigger, we’re going to stay on plan . . . it’s going to be as currently designed.” He said WA was on track to house its first sovereign Virginia-class submarine by 2032. And when asked whether the US would meet its fleet production requirements, he declared: “I can confidently say we should be above two submarines a year. By 2030 I would expected us to be above two submarines a year, based on current projections.” Admiral Caudle said there was an “implicit expectation” Australia would stand with the US, and described AUKUS as a “match made in heaven”. “(Australia is) such a great partner, you’ve been with us in conflicts since World War II,” he said. “When you have a great relationship with a country and you have the same national interest and to protect international rules-based order ... those types of missions are just common to like-minded navies. “We operate together today with your Collins-class (submarines), and we’ll operate together with the Virginia-class of the future.