US warship to honour Canberra, cement AUKUS deal

The US has discreetly approved the sale of $A313 million worth of sonar tech to boost Australia’s maritime early warning systems to counter China’s lurking maritime force.

We might not see their president any time soon but the United States has dispatched a warship to Australia to reinforce the AUKUS alliance through its formal commissioning in Sydney Harbour.

For the first time in its 229 year history, the US Navy will commission one of its warships in a foreign country and name it after our capital Canberra in what will be a significant show of goodwill.

While that event will be a spectacular military affair in July, it came as the US State Department more discreetly approved the sale of $A313 million worth of sonar tech to boost Australia’s maritime early warning systems to counter China’s lurking maritime force.

According to US Defence, that sensitive tactical underwater kit will allow for “detection and cuing of enemy submarines” and was in US interest to “support not alter” the Indo-Pacific military balance.

The future Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Canberra (LCS 30). Picture: USN Communication Specialist 1st Class Mark D. Faram

The future USS Canberra will join the US fleet after its commissioning in what the US promises will be “a celebration it deserves” before it takes part in ADF exercise Talisman Sabre 2023. The Royal Australian Navy is understood to be preparing a fleet to welcome it to Australia ahead of its unique commissioning.

“I can think of no better way to signify our enduring partnership with Australia than celebrating the newest US Navy warship named for Australia’s capital city and commissioning her in RAN Fleet Base East surrounded by many of the Australian ships we have worked alongside for years,” said US Secretary of Navy Carlos Del Toro.

In April this year tugboats push the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Canberra (LCS 30) to a pier at Naval Air Station, North Island, prior to a routine underway off the California Coast. Picture: Mark D. Faram

RAN chief Vice Adm. Mark Hammond said commissioning a US ship in a foreign port for the first time in history highlighted historical ties to the navies’ modern day partnership.

“It will be a historical event to see the USS Canberra and HMAS Canberra alongside each other in Sydney. As we look to the future, the strength of our partnership remains a cornerstone of a secure, stable, free and open Indo-Pacific Region,” he said.

Curiously, the ship’s sponsor will be Coalition Senator Marise Payne who as the former foreign minister attended the ship’s US keel laying ceremony in 2020, ironically by its manufacturer the Australian global shipbuilding giant Austal.

Sub Lieutenant Jaycob Humphreys looks out from the quarterdeck of HMAS Canberra as it departs Fleet Base East in Sydney. It will meet USS Canberra in July. Picture: Defence

The USS Canberra is a littoral combat ship designed for open ocean combat but also rapid shore insertion and deployment of troops and armaments.

Meanwhile the US Defense Department confirmed the State Department had approved the Australian Federal Government’s request to buy the Lockheed Martin designed Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Expeditionary (SURTASS-E) mission systems.

The system gets towed behind a ship to enable sonar detection of diesel and nuclear powered submarines in real time.

The Norwegian flagged MV Normand Jarl, procured by Australia for $110 million to be renamed Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Guidance for RAN use. Picture: Supplied

The RAN has warned it needed to counter China’s rapidly growing fleet of submarines already known to have made numerous forays off Australia’s coastline. The new kit could be hosted by the Navy’s newest ship the $110m Undersea Support Vessel ADV Guidance procured last month.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States. Australia is one of our most important allies in the Western Pacific,” the US Defense said. “The strategic location of this political and economic power contributes significantly to ensuring peace and economic stability in the region. It is vital to the U.S. national interest to assist our ally in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defense capability.”

Originally published as US warship to honour Canberra, cement AUKUS deal