MOUNTAINVIEW, California — From underwater drones to electronic warfare, the US is expanding its high-tech military cooperation with Australia and Britain as part of a broader effort to counter China's rapidly growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with defense chiefs from Australia and the United Kingdom at the U.S. military's defense technology center in Silicon Valley on Friday to forge a new agreement to increase technology cooperation and information sharing. The goal, according to a joint statement, is to better address global security challenges, ensure everyone can defend themselves against rapidly evolving threats and “contribute to stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.”
Austin met with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and Grant Shapps, the British Defense Minister, at the Defense Innovation Unit headquarters.
At a press conference after the meeting, Austin said the efforts, for example, will quickly accelerate the refinement of drone systems and prove that “we are stronger together.”
The new technology deal is the next step in a wider military partnership with Australia, first announced in 2021. The three countries have drawn up plans for the so-called AUKUS partnership to help equip Australia with a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines. AUKUS is an acronym for Australia, Great Britain and the United States.
Under the agreement, Australia will buy three Virginia-class submarines from the United States and build five new AUKUS-class submarines in partnership with Britain. The submarines, powered by American nuclear technology, would not carry nuclear weapons and would be built in Adelaide, Australia, with the first completed around 2040.
Marles said tremendous progress has been made in the submarine program. He added that as an island nation, Australia needs improved maritime drones and precision strike capabilities.
And Shapps said that with China “undermining freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific, we have never had a greater need for more innovation.” He said open navigation in the seas, including the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, is crucial.
Australian Navy officers have already begun receiving nuclear energy training at U.S. military schools, officials said.
Earlier this year, the US announced it would expand its military industrial base by helping Australia manufacture guided missiles and missiles for both countries within two years. Under that agreement, they would collaborate on Australian production of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems by 2025.
The closer cooperation between the countries is prompted by growing concerns about rapidly growing Chinese defense spending and rapidly expanding military presence in the region. Last year, Beijing signed a security treaty with the Solomon Islands and raised the prospect of a Chinese naval base being established there.
The US has increased its troop presence, military exercises and other activities in the region. U.S. relations with China have been tense in recent years over trade, U.S. support for Taiwan's self-rule, Beijing's military buildup on a series of man-made islands and some aggressive aircraft and ships.
The new agreement also provides for a series of military exercises using submarine and surface maritime drones and improves the three countries' ability to share intelligence and data collected by their sonobuoys. The buoys are used to detect submarines and other objects in the water.
It also calls for plans to expand the use of artificial intelligence, including on P-8A surveillance aircraft, to more quickly process data from the buoys to improve anti-submarine warfare. And it says the three countries will set up new radar sites to increase their ability to detect and track objects in deep space.
High-tech demonstrations were held in a large parking lot at DIU and at its headquarters, allowing Austin to take a few minutes before the meeting to see how a number of projects were being developed, including a virtual training device that will teach Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets and swarms of drones being developed for war fighters. The projects are not tied to the Australian agreement, but reflect the three countries' ongoing efforts to improve technology – an area where China often has the lead.
As Austin walked through the exhibits, he could see a swarm of five drones taking off from the sidewalk and hovering above the spectators – all controlled by a single worker with a small portable module. The short-range reconnaissance drones – called the Skydio
At the DIU offices, Air Force Maj. Alex Horn demonstrated a new portable pilot training module that allows instructors in the United States to remotely coach trainees abroad using a virtual reality headset. Four of the so-called 'Immersive Training Devices' will be delivered next month to the Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona and will be used to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s.
Horn said the devices, which are cheaper than other systems, will help speed up training for Ukrainian pilots who are used to flying Soviet aircraft and need education on the basics of the F-16 before transitioning to cockpit training.