Hundreds of Australian defence and civilian personnel will be upskilled in nuclear reactor expertise in 2025 by specialist Royal Navy engineers. The first such course concluded earlier this month, with 250 personnel learning the skills necessary to own, operate, maintain, sustain and regulate a nuclear-powered submarine.
The UK Defence Secretary committed to more UK-delivered training courses as the trilateral Defence Ministers AUKUS meeting concluded in London. John Healey hosted his Australian and US counterparts at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich - the site of the Royal Navy's initial nuclear reactor training more than 60 years ago.
The United Kingdom and the United States are strengthening superiority in the maritime domain by integrating Sting Ray torpedoes onto P-8A submarine-hunting aircraft. The Sting Ray counters deep diving and conventional submarines, and this move has the potential to boost lethality and stockpile resilience across the AUKUS nations.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey said:
"These are serious times, with threats increasing across the globe. Our defence partnerships have never been more important. I am pleased to confirm further skills and capability agreements with our AUKUS partners today.
"Our government will stand shoulder to shoulder with our Australian and the US partners, with new UK leadership in AUKUS and a commitment to boost jobs and growth.
"It has been an honour to host my counterparts in London for this landmark meeting."
The progress by Australia to build their own nuclear-powered submarine workforce was furthered by Australian personnel last month when they participated in the maintenance of a nuclear-powered attack submarine - the USS Hawaii - for the first time in Australia.
A trilateral statement issued following today's meeting underlined the security partnership's continued commitment to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific, that is secure and stable. It said the countries will continue to work to uphold the rules-based international order where human rights and the rule of law are respected, and states can make sovereign choices free from coercion.
