An Anduril Ghost Shark XL-AUV in the test tank at the company's Sydney production facility (Photo: Anduril)
SINGAPORE — The three members of the AUKUS pact have signed an agreement cementing the joint development of technologies that will be deployed for Uncrewed Underwater Vessels (UUVs).
This marks the first project to be officially announced under Pillar 2 of AUKUS, which is designed to pool the capabilities of the US, Australia and the United Kingdom’s respective defense sectors to develop advanced military capabilities, according to a press release from the latter’s Ministry of Defence.
The agreement will see the development of payloads such as sensors and weapons systems that can be deployed across all three nations’ UUV fleets.
According to a joint statement issued by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, UK Defence Secretary John Healy and Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles following a meeting at the sidelines of the ongoing Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, the first deliveries of the unspecified payloads will begin in 2027.
