AUKUS Needs an American Nuclear Submarine—Now

The Australia-U.K.-U.S. effort (AUKUS) to develop an indigenous nuclear submarine program in Australia is nearing a major milestone: arrival of the first rotationally based nuclear submarine. Per the optimum pathway agreed by the three nations, the first U.S. submarine is to arrive in 2027—but the sooner the better. Yet no submarine has been named yet, imperiling the entire endeavor.

Critically, these payments are intended to support submarine shipbuilding capacity, which has lagged for years and must reach a rate of more than 2.33 boats constructed a year to meet AUKUS delivery timelines. Today the build rate is closer to 1.2 boats a year. Breaking this ceiling will require sustained increasing shipyard capital investments that AUKUS is partly funding.

AUKUS’s next major milestone is the arrival of the first of three U.S. nuclear submarines at their new home at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia (also known as the Submarine Rotational Force West, or SRF-W). Much has been done to prepare for these boats’ arrival over the past three years—increased submarine port visits, repair shop improvements, pier expansion, provision of added family support services, etc. However, still to be addressed is the need for a local dry dock to support SRF-W. This is not a new issue, but with proper preparation it should not delay the 2027 arrival of the first U.S boat to HMAS Stirling.

With respect to deciding the first U.S. boat to SRF-W, there are several considerations that make it imperative the Navy announce its choice now: One, completion of all maintenance requiring dry docking on named boat through 2032. Two, make appropriate Congressional and crew notification of the change of home port; normally a year prior but best no less than six months prior to departure from the U.S. Three, allow adequate time for operational deployment planning both at the Pentagon and Pacific Fleet. Finally, it gives assurance to the many local and American enterprises making investments to support SRF-W and continue needed investments and hiring for AUKUS.

But most important for naming and setting a hard arrival date of the first boat of the SRF-W is political. As concerns simmer over confidence that AUKUS will deliver, another head of state event is needed, as was done in San Diego. As U.S. and U.K. nuclear submarines and submarine support ships visit HMAS Stirling, there will be opportunity for the heads of state to gather there and announce the first arrival to SRF-W.

 A head of state event in late 2026 and subsequent 2027 arrival of a U.S. boat to SRF-W will have strategic value. It will immediately enhance forward naval presence of a capability China fears—America’s nuclear submarines are an apex predator. Done earliest in 2027, it complicates China’s preparation for a war over the fate of Taiwan that Beijing has set as a goal to complete that same year.

AUKUS has been reviewed and assessed by all three nations as strategically and industrially important; to include the current administration in Washington. It is time for another push from the top to keep things moving at speed.

Brent D. Sadler is a senior research fellow specializing in naval warfare and advanced technology at The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for National Defense.

image: GARDEN ISLAND, HMAS Stirling, Western Australia, Australia (October 29, 2025) – USS Vermont (SSN 792) arrives at HMAS Stirling, Western Australia on Oct. 29, as part of a scheduled port visit before a planned submarine maintenance period (SMP). The SMP showcased Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility’s ability to conduct maintenance in Western Australia and its training of Australian maintainers to support the establishment of Submarine Rotational Force – West as early as 2027 as part of AUKUS Pillar I, the trilateral security agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. (U.S. Navy Photo by Ashley Calingo)