iscover
The first eight enlisted sailors and five additional officers from the Royal Australian Navy have graduated from the US Navy’s Nuclear Power Training Unit Charleston.
The graduates, who trained alongside US Navy personnel, began the rigorous naval nuclear power training pipeline in October 2024 under the Australia, United Kingdom, United States (AUKUS) trilateral security partnership.
The curriculum encompassed a wide range of critical subjects, including mathematics, nuclear physics, reactor principles and nuclear reactor technology.
This achievement marks an important step in Australia’s development of a sovereign, conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine fleet.
“This graduation marks a significant step forward for our Navy,” said Royal Australian Navy Commodore Daniel Sutherland, Commander Submarine Force.
“Having naval nuclear power-qualified officers, and now sailors, is critical in meeting our goal of operating conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.”
NPTU 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.
“I remain impressed with the quality of Australian submariners who come through the naval nuclear propulsion training pipeline,” said Captain Robert Rose, Commander, NPTU Charleston.
“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 opportunity for our US Navy students to train alongside their Australian counterparts is beneficial to both our countries’ sailors,” said Master Chief Ed Jackson, Engineering Department Master Chief for Naval Reactors.
“These Royal Australian Navy sailors will now transition to our submarines to continue their training and qualifications in operating naval nuclear propulsion plants.”
The AUKUS partnership, initiated in September 2021 and formalised with the Optimal Pathway announcement in March 2023, is a strategic initiative to re-establish deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region.
The US Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program is a joint Department of Navy and Department of Energy organisation overseeing all aspects of naval nuclear propulsion, from research and design to training and maintenance.
Naval Reactors harnesses the atom to safely, reliably and affordably power a global fleet that enables unrivalled responsiveness, endurance, stealth and warfighting capability.
Throughout the program’s 76-year history, they have operated 273 reactors, accumulated more than 7,700 reactor years of safe operations and maintained an unrivalled record of over 178 million miles safely steamed on nuclear power.
