Pentagon announces first US submarine joining Submarine Rotational Force-West
The Pentagon has named USS Colorado as the first US Virginia-class boat assigned to Submarine Rotational Force-West, the rotational presence of four US and one UK fast-attack submarines at HMAS Stirling near Perth, with initial operating capability targeted for 2027. It converts AUKUS Pillar One from schedule commitments into a physical US submarine presence on Australian soil, accelerating the sustainment infrastructure, workforce and regulatory experience Australia needs before it owns its own boats. It also deepens Australia's operational entanglement with US undersea warfare posture in the Indo-Pacific, raising both the deterrence value and the exposure of Western Australia as a strategi
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