Twenty-eight ASC [formerly known as the Australian Submarine Corporation] personnel pose for a photo at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF), Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, July 16, 2024. The team is part of the Australia, United Kingdom and United States (AUKUS) enhanced trilateral security partnership. They will be trained and certified on various aspects of submarine maintenance to support the AUKUS Pillar 1 program that is supporting Australia’s acquisition of sovereign conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines. PHNSY & IMF is a field activity of NAVSEA and a one-stop regional maintenance center for the Navy’s surface ships and submarines. It is the largest industrial employer in the state of Hawai’i, with a combined civilian and military workforce of approximately 6,400. It is the most comprehensive fleet repair and maintenance facility between the U.S. West Coast and the Far East, strategically located in the heart of the Pacific, being about a week’s steaming time closer to potential regional contingencies in the Indo-Pacific. The AUKUS Integration and Acquisition Program Office is responsible for executing the trilateral partnership to support Australia’s acquisition of sovereign, conventionally armed, nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines at the earliest possible date while setting the highest nuclear stewardship standards and continuing to maintain the highest nonproliferation standard. The AUKUS partnership is a strategic endeavor that will uplift the industrial bases of the three partners and promote a safe, free and open Indo-Pacific, ensuring an international, rules-based order is upheld in the region. To learn about AUKUS Pillar 1 and the Optimal Pathway, visit ---- FACT SHEET: Trilateral Australia-UK-US Partnership on Nuclear-Powered Submarines | The White House (U.S. Navy photo by Claudia LaMantia)