U.S. Navy Trains Australian Divers to Sustain Virginia-Class Submarines Under AUKUS Program.

U.S. Navy submarine sustainment in the Indo-Pacific is shifting closer to the operational area as Australia develops the ability to conduct specialized maintenance on Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines from HMAS Stirling. The AUKUS capability is intended to reduce reliance on distant support hubs such as Pearl Harbor, helping U.S. attack submarines return to patrols faster after selected repairs.

Local maintenance at HMAS Stirling could shorten downtime for submarines operating near Australia and strengthen the forward support network for future allied undersea operations. As rotational deployments expand from Western Australia, the capability will increase submarine availability and improve the resilience of sustained U.S. and allied operations across the Indo-Pacific.

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U.S. Navy sailors and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard civilian divers work with Royal Australian Navy Clearance Dive Team 4 beneath the hull of USS Vermont (SSN 792) during a planned submarine maintenance period, supporting AUKUS efforts to build Australian capacity for forward Virginia-class submarine sustainment. (Picture source: U.S. Department of War/Defense)

The U.S. Navy disclosed on September 25, 2026, that eight Royal Australian Navy clearance divers had completed five months of intensive training at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii. Their qualification covered ballast-tank component replacement, torpedo-tube inspections, fly-by-wire checks, rigging, radiological-diver certification, and shipyard safety procedures, giving Australia its first divers trained to perform this type of Virginia-class submarine maintenance to U.S. standards.

AUKUS is the trilateral defense partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, with its submarine effort centered on building an Australian conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarine force and establishing the industrial, technical and operational infrastructure needed to sustain it. Australia plans to acquire Virginia-class submarines from the United States before introducing the jointly developed SSN-AUKUS, while Submarine Rotational Force-West at HMAS Stirling is intended to bring U.S. and British nuclear submarines to Western Australia from as early as 2027.

The strategic consequence of the diver training goes well beyond the number of personnel involved. It gives the U.S. Navy another element of the forward maintenance network needed to keep Virginia-class submarines operational closer to Western Pacific and Indian Ocean operating areas, while reducing dependence on distant U.S. shipyards for selected underwater repairs. Not every Virginia-class defect requires dry-dock work or a major overhaul, and underwater inspections, component replacement, and selected intermediate-level submarine maintenance can allow an attack submarine to correct faults alongside a pier and return to operations without sailing thousands of kilometers to a major U.S. maintenance facility.

Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard has been designated the lead U.S. maintenance activity supporting Submarine Rotational Force-West and is preparing to establish a maintenance detachment in Western Australia. Australian military and civilian personnel are expected to take on an increasing share of maintenance work at HMAS Stirling while operating under U.S. and British nuclear safety, engineering and certification requirements. The operational value is submarine availability: a Virginia-class submarine suffering a repairable fault while deployed near Australia could otherwise lose significant operational time transiting to Pearl Harbor before maintenance even begins, whereas forward submarine maintenance at HMAS Stirling gives the U.S. Navy the option to complete selected work in Western Australia and return the boat to patrol, intelligence collection, anti-submarine warfare or strike missions more quickly.

That matters directly to U.S. force posture in the Indo-Pacific. Virginia-class submarines are among the U.S. Navy’s most capable undersea combat assets, designed for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence collection, land attack, and special operations support, and their combat effect depends not only on weapons, sensors, and acoustic performance but also on how many days each submarine remains available for operational tasking. The standard Virginia-class submarine displaces about 7,800 tons submerged, can exceed 25 knots, and carries Mk 48 heavyweight torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles, while later Block V submarines equipped with the Virginia Payload Module provide substantially greater strike capacity, increasing the military value of any maintenance system that can keep these nuclear submarines deployed and reduce time lost to non-operational transit.

Submarine Rotational Force-West is expected to become the central operating framework for this forward sustainment model. U.S. Virginia-class and British Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarines are planned to rotate through HMAS Stirling from 2027, creating a more persistent allied undersea presence from Western Australia and giving Australian personnel direct experience in supporting nuclear submarines before Australia operates its own SSNs. Australia is simultaneously expanding the infrastructure at HMAS Stirling needed to sustain that force, including nuclear-related maintenance areas, radiological support functions, laboratories and controlled industrial spaces, while the combination of infrastructure, U.S. shipyard support and Australian-qualified maintainers shows AUKUS moving beyond basing access toward the practical mechanics of keeping nuclear attack submarines ready for operations.

The new qualification does not mean Australia can independently overhaul Virginia-class submarines. The disclosed capability concerns specialized underwater maintenance and intermediate sustainment within a broader U.S.-Australian framework that still relies on certified engineering authorities, nuclear stewardship procedures, and U.S. technical supervision. The more important change is where selected submarine maintenance can now be performed: HMAS Stirling is being developed not simply as a destination for visiting U.S. Navy submarines, but as a forward sustainment hub capable of helping repair Virginia-class submarines and returning them to operations without automatically sending them back across the Pacific.

For the U.S. Navy, that could translate into more usable submarine presence across the Indo-Pacific and less deployment time lost to maintenance-related transit. For Australia, the same process builds the technical workforce and submarine sustainment experience required for its future nuclear-powered fleet, making this AUKUS training milestone a practical step toward a more durable allied undersea combat network.

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Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.