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U.S., U.K. and Australia to jointly develop AUKUS undersea dronesProvided by Yonhap/ReutersProvided by Yonhap/Reuters
The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia announced a joint effort to develop unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) as part of the AUKUS security partnership. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles announced the plan at a joint news conference during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on the 30th (local time). Hegseth said the project will field a highly adaptable, multi-mission UUV payload designed to support undersea operations and preserve the partners’ collective advantage in the maritime domain. Healey said the collaboration will allow the three countries to jointly develop advanced sensors and weapons for undersea drones and rapidly get cutting-edge battlefield technologies to their forces. “We have talked too much and acted too little in AUKUS for too long,” he added. Formed in 2021, AUKUS rests on two pillars: Pillar 1, which covers cooperative development of nuclear-powered submarines, and Pillar 2, which focuses on advanced defense technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, undersea systems, hypersonics and cyber capabilities. The UUV program falls under Pillar 2. Last year, the administration in President Donald Trump’s second term reviewed the AUKUS agreement negotiated during the Biden administration and decided to continue it. Under the current plan, the U.S. will begin deploying Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) to Australia starting next year, and Australia is scheduled to begin acquiring Virginia-class boats from the U.S. in the early 2030s. The U.K. and Australia will also jointly develop AUKUS-class nuclear-powered attack submarines incorporating U.S. technology and build them at their respective shipyards. The U.K. expects to receive its first boats in the late 2030s, while Australia expects delivery in the early 2040s. To support construction, the Australian government will make an initial A$3.9 billion (about 4.22 trillion KRW; approximately 3.17 billion USD) investment to build an AUKUS-class submarine construction facility at Osborne, near Adelaide in South Australia. Separately from AUKUS, Australia is investing A$1.7 billion (about 1.84 trillion KRW; approximately 1.38 billion USD) to develop and acquire a large, long-range, autonomous reconnaissance-and-attack UUV called the “Ghost Shark.” Yonhap TV inquiries and tips: KakaoTalk/LINE jebo23 Cha Seung-eun (chaletuno@yna.co.kr)
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