Enlisted Australian sailors trained to use US nuclear attack subs
By Zita Ballinger Fletcher
Apr 23, 2025, 05:41 PM
Adm. Bill Houston, director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, right, discusses the capabilities of the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine Montana with Vice Adm. Mark Hammond, chief of the Royal Australian Navy, left, and Greg Wilcock, Australian Consul-General Honolulu, center. (U.S. Navy photo by Cmdr. Rick Moore)
In a major milestone of the trilateral AUKUS agreement, eight enlisted sailors and five officers of the Royal Australian Navy graduated last week from the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Power Training Unit.
“I remain impressed with the quality of Australian submariners who come through the naval nuclear propulsion training pipeline,” Capt. Robert Rose, commander of NPTU Charleston, said in a release. “Six officers previously completed prototype training, each performing exceptionally well. I fully expect these recent graduates, especially our first enlisted personnel, will excel in the fleet.”
The NPTU is provided by the U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program, which has operated 273 nuclear reactors in a 76-year period, oversees all matters related to naval nuclear propulsion and manages all civilians and military personnel tasked with building, operating and maintaining nuclear-powered ships.
The Australian sailors spent six months undergoing rigorous NPTU training to learn how to crew nuclear-attack submarines that the U.S. agreed to deliver to Australia as part of AUKUS. The AUKUS agreement between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia rests on two pillars, the first of which is support for the Royal Australian Navy in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. The second is to collaborate in key areas of naval technology: undersea capabilities, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber and electronic warfare.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-navy/2025/04/23/enlisted-australian-sailors-trained-to-use-us-nuclear-attack-subs/
