Dechaineux Dives into Tri-lateral Submarine Exercise
Australian Navy submarine HMAS Dechaineux, has recently joined four Japanese submarines and United States Navy Los Angeles class attack submarine USS Key West in a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force trilateral exercise in waters south of Japan.
The Submarine Competition (known as SUBCOMP) aims to further the anti-submarine warfare integration of the three navies, stressing each crew’s responses and tactics. The top performer is recognised with the Japanese Battle Efficiency Award.
Commander Grady Hill, Key West’s Commanding Officer thought his crew performed well.
“The crew found this exercise to be an excellent opportunity to plan, train and execute tactics while in a deployed environment,” he said.
“The crew performed superbly, rising to the challenge and honing critical skills with our partners.”
Commander Dan Sutherland was in charge of the Australian crew as Commanding Officer Dechaineux and said his team also performed well their first outing in the exercise.
“We’re honored to participate in this year’s competition,” he said.
“This is our first opportunity to participate and I’m looking forward to future exercises with both Japan and the United States.”
Commander Glen Miles, Australia’s Deputy Director Submarine Operations said exercising with our partners in the region was very important.
"Dechaineux's participation exemplified the strong relationship between our submarine forces and the common desire to increase our interoperability," he said.
Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Liaison Officer Commander Ryu Moriyasu said the opportunity had value from all sides.
“We were very pleased to have Dechaineux and Key West to participate in this year’s Submarine Competition,” he said.
“Their involvement greatly increased our interoperability and built on a strong partnership among our forces.”
Dechaineux is a Collins class submarine, based in Western Australia named after Second World War Commanding Officer of HMAS Australia II, Captain Emile Dechaineux who died of wounds susteained in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
