The Bahamas and the United States signed the AUTEC Lease Agreement

For Immediate Release

Nassau, 29 September 2026

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 Undersea 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.

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US Ambassador to The Bahamas H.E. Hershel Walker pictured left with Cabinet Secretary Mr. Colin Higgs at OPM for AUTEC Lease Agreement signing 29 September, 2026.

Picture left to right – Alex Macfarlane, Head of the Political and Economic Section, Commander Victor Lange, Senior Defence Official and Chief of the Office of Defence Corporation, H.E. Hershel Walker, Ambassador of the United States, Mr. Colin Higgs, Secretary to the Cabinet, Jerusa Ali -Director General, Bahamas Foreign Affairs Ministry, Deandre Hepburn Foreign Service officer.