Groton ― Three Royal Australian Navy officers will report to the Naval Submarine Base here next month to continue their training in the operation of nuclear submarines, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., announced.

In a statement, Courtney, a key proponent of AUKUS, the 2021 agreement among Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to equip Australia with nuclear submarines, said the U.S. training of Australian officers is “a bold, tangible step forward” in carrying out the terms of the pact.

The three Australian officers heading to Groton graduated earlier this month from the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Prototype Power Training Unit in Charleston, S.C. In July, they became the first Australian sailors to graduate from the Navy’s Nuclear Power School in Goose Creek, S.C.

Lt. Cmdr. James Heydon, Lt. Cmdr. Adam Klyne and Lt. William Hall started the Nuclear Power School training in November 2022, becoming the first Royal Australian Navy personnel to enroll in one of the Department of Defense’s most rigorous training programs, according to the Naval Sea Systems Command’s public affairs office.

“... (B)eing one of the first Australians to graduate from NPS means a lot to me personally and for Australia as we work to build the stewardship needed to safely operate a nuclear reactor,” Heydon said in an article posted by the office. “With that as our motivation, my colleagues and I put our heads down and cracked on.”

In Groton, the three officers will pursue the Submarine Officer Basic Course at the Naval Submarine School for about 2½ months and then be assigned to a Virginia-class submarine to continue their training.

Three more Royal Australian Navy officers enrolled in Nuclear Power School last April and graduated in October. Royal Australian Navy enlisted sailors also have begun the training cycle. More than 15 RAN personnel were to have started training in the United States by the end of 2023.

The Submarine Officer Basic Course prepares submarine sailors “to conduct dynamic operations in dangerous environments all over the globe,” according to its website. The course teaches “submarine tactics, weapon system employment, capabilities of our adversaries, and principles of watch-standing” ― the assignment of sailors to specific roles on a ship.

The curriculum includes classroom lectures and seminars, as well as simulated scenarios in multimillion dollar trainers available at the school.

In 2022, Courtney sought to facilitate U.S. training of Royal Australia Navy personnel by introducing the Australia-U.S. Submarine Officer Pipeline Act, which was incorporated into the national defense spending bill for the 2023 fiscal year.

“The centerpiece of AUKUS is to create a fleet of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines for the Australian Navy,” Courtney said. “The threshold requirement for success is training Australia’s Navy to operate these submarines.”

He said the Australian officers’ arrival in Groton “marks the beginning of a great ‘mateship’ between the City of Groton, the Naval Submarine School, and the Royal Australian Navy.”

The AUKUS alliance calls for the United States to supply from three to five Virginia-class submarines to Australia, starting in the 2030s, as the trilateral partnership seeks to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

The deal has major implications for Groton’s Electric Boat, one of two U.S. shipyards involved in building the ships.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com