New sub base in WA should become a joint facility like Pine Gap to secure US promise to sell boats to Australia: Mike Pezzullo

An audacious plan would see a planned shipyard in Western Australia fast-tracked with US nuclear submarines able to use it, as a possible way of anchoring the AUKUS subs purchase.

A Virginia-class attack submarine, pre-commissioning, during trials in the Atlantic Ocean. Picture: US Navy and General Dynamics Electric Boat

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Australia should seek to declare the planned nuclear submarine shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia, as a joint Australia/US facility on a par with Pine Gap to secure America’s commitment to deliver Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia from 2032.

The audacious plan would see the multibillion-dollar shipyard fast-tracked with a promise to Washington that its US nuclear submarines could not only conduct rotational visits but could also undergo a two-year deep maintenance at the facility.

This would help the US navy clear its severe submarine maintenance backlog in American shipyards and allow more of its boats at sea, thereby reducing the risk that the US president in 2032 will veto selling US subs to Australia on the grounds that it would degrade the US submarine capability.

The requirement under law that the president, ahead of the planned sale to Australia of the first Virginia class sub in 2032, must certify to Congress that it will not harm the US navy’s capability is considered the greatest risk to Australia acquiring US nuclear submarines under the AUKUS pact.

It allows the politics of Washington to potentially derail the sale at a time when the US production of Virginia-class submarines is already lagging at just 1.2 new boats a year compared with the target of 2.3 boats.

The Anzac-class frigate HMAS Parramatta at the present Henderson Shipyard in Western Australia for an upgrade. Picture: supplied

The proposal, written by the former author of the 2009 Defence white paper and former Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo is aimed at tackling this problem which critics of AUKUS, such as former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, believe is its greatest weakness.

“Australia should seek to lock in such a treaty, thereby assuring itself of access to Virginia-class boats from 2032, by negotiating a deal with the Trump administration over the next 12-18 months,” Mr Pezzullo says.

“Australia could go further.

“It could reinforce the argument for (the president’s) certification by bringing forward the building of the shipyard planned for Henderson, Western Australia.

“Australia could establish this shipyard, by treaty, as a joint Australian/US facility, in recognition of its vital role in the alliance, which could be at least as significant as the contribution of the Pine Gap satellite ground station.’’

Under current plans Australia has only agreed to the rotational deployment to HMAS Stirling of four USN submarines from 2027 under the Submarine Rotation Force–West (SRF-W) program. But the government has been vague about how long each rotation might be and it has not discussed the possibility – as raised by Mr Pezzullo – that US submarines could undergo their multi-year maintenance at the planned new Henderson shipyard.

Mr Pezzullo said that for the US to be able to both rotate and maintain its submarines at Sterling in an ongoing treaty-level agreement would be of “immense strategic value’’ to the US.

“The Joint Defence Facility Henderson would become the US Navy’s fifth naval shipyard, adding those in Maine, Virginia, Washington State, and Hawaii,” Mr Pezzullo said.

“Becoming a trusted partner in an integrated allied submarine maintenance system would be an invaluable alliance contribution by Australia.”

Former chief of the Department of Home Affairs Mike Pezzullo. Picture: Martin Ollman

The yet-to-be-built multibillion-dollar shipyard in Henderson will require multiple dry docks to allow depot-level maintenance to be carried out on Australia’s planned fleet of Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines and, eventually, the Adelaide-built AUKUS submarines.

But Mr Pezzullo said that the government needed to move faster if it was to provide the option for US submarine maintenance ahead of the 2032 arrival of the first Australian Virginia class boat.

“To achieve this goal, Defence would need to cut through regulatory and construction obstacles, ideally aiming to have two operating dry-docks ready in the Henderson shipyard by 2032, perhaps using nuclear-certified floating docks at first,” he said.

The USN has a significant submarine maintenance backlog, which is currently forecast to last for decades and which reduces the number of US submarines that can be put to sea.

At the end of 2023, of a USN combat force of 48 attack submarines, 16 were in maintenance, or 33 per cent of the force.

The USN was seeking to reduce that ratio to 20 per cent of the force, which would mean that, in terms of its current force, it would have an additional six boats that could be put to sea, Mr Pezzullo said.

“Having access to an additional shipyard in Australia would assist the US Navy in achieving this maintenance goal,” he said. That would smooth the way for a future president to approve the sale of the Virginia class boats to Australia without fearing that it would degrade America’s submarine fleet.