US assigns first nuclear-powered sub to Australian base - AFP.com
The United States has assigned a nuclear-powered attack submarine to an Australian base, marking the first such permanent allocation and a tangible step in Submarine Rotational Force-West at HMAS Stirling. It commits Australia to hosting and sustaining nuclear-powered boats well before any Virginia-class sale, accelerating demands on Western Australian infrastructure, skilled maintenance workforces and nuclear stewardship arrangements. It also deepens the operational entanglement of Australian basing with US undersea capability in the Indo-Pacific, with consequences for both deterrence and sovereign control of access.
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