The AUTEC lease agreement was extended today, 29 September 2026. The official signing took
place at the Office of the Prime Minister(OPM)Nassau, Bahamas.
The renewed lease allows the United States to continue operation of the Atlantic Under sea Test and
Evaluation Centre (AUTEC) on Andros Island for a further period of five years at 12.4 million dollars
per year.
The agreement was signed on behalf of the Government by Secretary to the Cabinet Mr. Colin Higgs and on behalf of the United States by H. E. Hershel Walker, Ambassador of the United States to The Bahamas. Also present was Director General, Bahamas Foreign Affairs Ministry, Jerusa Ali on the Bahamian side and Commander Victor Lange, Senior Defense Official and Chief of the Office of Defence Cooperation, Alex MacFarlane, Head of the Political and Economic Section, U.S. Embassy Nassau on the American side.
