Sailors graduate US Nuclear Power School
Vice Admiral Mark Hammond attends the graduation of the first three Australian officers to attend Nuclear Power School in Charleston. (United States Navy/Defence)
Australia’s entry into the nuclear age has been officially recognised, after seven Royal Australian Navy sailors graduated from the United States Navy’s most tightly-controlled Nuclear Power School. Their course was held ahead of the navy’ switch from diesel to reactor-powered subs.
A statement from Defence said the sailors graduated “alongside a third group of RAN officers who also graduated: and were “the pioneers towards Australia establishing a sovereign, conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarine fleet in the early 2030s.”
The so-called nuke school is essential for the AUKUS pact because, irrespective of where the boats ultimately come from, it’s the powerplant that gives them the edge.
Nuclear-fuelled subs are not as silent as some of their competitors; that’s not really the point. It’s just they can remain very, very quiet for very long periods of time without coming up for air and thus without risking detection.
The navy is emphatic this is a skill and capability worth acquiring and working on.
A Defence statement said chief of navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond “acknowledged the rigorous training the sailors completed at the school. “
“Naval Nuclear Power training is exceptionally rigorous and to have seven Australian sailors and five officers complete the program and move on to the Nuclear Power Training Unit takes us closer to operating our own SSNs,” Hammond said.
“The seven enlisted RAN sailors trained at the Nuclear Power School from October 2023, and have been learning the science and engineering principles that are fundamental to the design, operation, and maintenance of naval nuclear propulsion plants alongside American and British submariners,” Defence said.
“The graduates will start this month at the United States Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, which trains officers, enlisted sailors, and civilians for shipboard nuclear power plant operation and maintenance of surface ships and submarines in the US Navy’s nuclear fleet.”
Defence said “RAN personnel are in various stages of the US nuclear-powered submarine training pipeline to equip them with skills and experience aboard the US Virginia Class SSNs,” and that “assignment of RAN sailors to US submarines is a fundamental step towards developing the skills needed to crew the Virginia-class submarines that Australia will own and operate from the early 2030s.”
“Last month, Australian sailors conducted the first maintenance period on an SSN in Australia. Today we graduate the first enlisted personnel from an exceptionally rigorous school; already we have Australian officers serving aboard both US and UK SSNs,” said director-general of the Australian Submarine Agency, Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead.
“Thirty-seven months after AUKUS’ inception, we are well on our way to developing Australia’s SSN capability,” Mead said.
All we need now are the boats.
