Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (SUBPAC) hosted the 2025 Undersea Warfare Commanders’ Conference at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, April 1-4, 2025. Rear Adm. Rick Seif, commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, welcomed the international partner nation participants to the latest iteration of the conference at SUBPAC Headquarters.
“Undersea warfare is highly complex, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, and sensors and platforms from seabed to space must integrate together to control the battlespace. The USWCC is a superb opportunity for flag-level dialogue with our undersea Allies and partners across a wide range of topics. We’re at our best when we operate together, shoulder-to-shoulder as a team,” said Seif.
The 2025 USWCC featured submarine force representatives from the Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, French Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Republic of Korea Navy, Republic of Singapore Navy, and the Royal Navy. Each participating nation provided a briefing on their submarine force capabilities, key lessons from recent multinational theater anti-submarine warfare exercises, and how their submarine force is adapting to solve evolving communication and technological challenges at sea.
The conference’s theme was “Strengthening Theater Undersea Warfare Interoperability and Lethality in the Indo-Pacific Theater.”
“Our combined combat readiness and interchangeability maximizes the asymmetric value of submarines and cross-domain undersea forces,” said Seif. “Continued collaboration with our highly capable and like-minded partners strengthens deterrence and contributes directly to peace and stability in the region.”
Adm. Steve Koehler, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, delivered opening remarks for the conference, discussing the challenges of undersea warfare and the importance of interoperability and cohesion between partner nation undersea warfare platforms and sensors. Adm. Bill Houston, director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program later addressed the conference attendees, highlighting the endurance and capabilities of nuclear-powered submarines in deterring aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
USWCC conference participants took part in a table-top undersea warfare planning exercise and conducted a tour of Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Montana (SSN 794), discussing the boat’s capabilities with Cmdr. John Gilligan, Montana’s commanding officer.
The Pacific Submarine Force provides strategic deterrence, anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface warfare; precision land strike; intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and early warning; and special warfare capabilities around the globe.
