USS Colorado first submarine chosen for Australia rotations under AUKUS pact

The USS Colorado will be the first vessel assigned to Submarine Rotational Force-West in Australia. The fast-attack submarine USS Colorado stands in Dry Dock 2 at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Sept. 25, 2025. (Mike Wilson/U.S. Navy) The Hawaii-based USS Colorado will be the first vessel assigned to Submarine Rotational Force-West in Australia later next year, the Pentagon announced Monday. The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine has been homeported at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam since April 2024 after moving from Connecticut. SRF-West is projected to host up to four U.S. fast-attack submarines and one from the United Kingdom on a rotational basis at HMAS Stirling, an Australian navy base near Perth, the Pentagon said in a statement issued jointly with Australia and the U.K.

In June, the U.S. Navy reactivated Submarine Squadron 3 to support the rotations. The service has not announced which submarines will comprise the full squadron. The Colorado was commissioned in March 2018 and was the Navy’s 15th Virginia-class sub. The 377-foot-long vessel carries a crew of 130 submariners. This summer it completed a two-year maintenance overhaul at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. The Australia-based rotational fleet was created as part of the AUKUS pact, a September 2021 agreement creating a security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United