The Pentagon has assigned the USS Colorado as the first US nuclear-powered attack submarine to join a rotating force to be based in western Australia.

Axar.az reports, citing AFP, the 377-foot (115-metre) Virginia-Class submarine, armed with land-attack missiles and sophisticated torpedoes, will sail to the new Australian base in late 2027, officials said Tuesday.

The deployment is a "significant milestone" in building up a joint US-Australia-UK deterrence in the Pacific under their AUKUS defence pact, the allies said in a joint statement.

The defence agreement, seen as a response to China's military buildup in the region, aims to equip Australia's navy with a fleet of stealthy nuclear-powered submarines and expand military cooperation between the three allies.

Australia does not permit foreign military bases on its soil, but hosts US Marines for exercises for six months of the year in the northern city of Darwin.