Navy chief Mark Hammond has corrected the "insulting" suggestion Australians were sleeping in their bunks on a US submarine when it attacked an Iranian ship off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed in March that three Australian navy personnel were on board the American boat when it sank the Iranian frigate.
Mr Albanese at the time said the Australians did not "participate in any offensive action".
Vice Admiral Hammond told an estimates hearing on Wednesday, the claim made by a commentator that Australians were hiding was "insulting" and showed a "complete lack of understanding for what submarines on operations actually do".
"No one is asleep in their bunk when a submarine is involved in activities such as that," he said.
