Overview
- The Navy announced on May 30 that it had established Naval Support Activity Stirling at HMAS Stirling to support the AUKUS Submarine Rotational Force–West.
- NSA Stirling will operate under Navy Region Japan and provide administration, housing, healthcare, childcare, morale and welfare, public affairs, and personnel-processing services for assigned U.S. personnel and families.
- The first U.S. sailors are already working at Stirling, roughly 80 more personnel are expected by the end of 2026 to bring the American presence to about 200 people, and the Navy projects a buildup to roughly 2,300 Americans, civilians and family members by 2030.
- Submarine Rotational Force–West is expected to begin rotations next year and could host up to four U.S. nuclear‑powered fast attack submarines plus one U.K. submarine, while a separate organization will handle submarine maintenance and operations.
- The support activity was set up at Australia’s invitation and forms part of the wider AUKUS effort to deepen allied undersea cooperation, increase forward presence in the Indo‑Pacific, and prepare Australian infrastructure for future nuclear‑powered submarines.