Britain, Australia and the US have announced the next step in the Aukus defence partnership with an agreement to produce kit for underwater military drones.
Defence Secretary John Healey announced the project alongside his US counterpart Pete Hegseth and Australian deputy prime minister Richard Marles at a defence conference in Singapore.
The agreement involves developing new technologies such as weapons and sensors that can be deployed from underwater drones, known as uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs).
Mr Healey said: “Together we are announcing ground-breaking underwater capabilities that will keep Britain safe, backing British businesses that are driving growth, and standing shoulder to shoulder with our closest allies.
“This is what modern defence looks like. We’re stepping on the accelerator to develop cutting-edge tech to boost our collective deterrence and support our shared security.”
The project is expected to deliver its first equipment as early as next year, as the Royal Navy looks to move towards a “hybrid” model featuring greater use of drones.
That move has already seen the Navy invest in uncrewed minehunters, which have been loaded onto the support ship RFA Lyme Bay for a possible deployment to the Strait of Hormuz.
The Ministry of Defence said the new technology would allow the Royal Navy to detect underwater threats to subsea infrastructure, such as internet cables in the North Sea that have recently been the target of Russian spy ships.
Saturday’s agreement in Singapore is the first project announced under “pillar 2” of the Aukus defence agreement signed between the UK, Australia and the US in 2021.
Pillar 2 involves co-operation between the three nations on cutting-edge military technology, while “pillar 1” is a deal to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.
It comes a month after the Commons Defence Committee warned pillar 2 was yet to deliver on its promise and was running out of time to retain its “credibility”.
On Saturday, the three politicians also announced that a US nuclear-powered submarine would visit Australia in 2027 as part of Aukus’s “Submarine Rotational Force-West” – a commitment by the UK and US to provide a submarine presence at Australia’s Perth naval base.
It follows a visit by the UK’s HMS Anson attack submarine to the base earlier this year for a maintenance period that was reportedly cut short due to the outbreak of the Iran war.
