UK, US, Australia to Jointly Make Advanced Weapons for Undersea Drones — Defense Secretary
Astute class submarine HMS Ambush is pictured during sea trials near Scotland.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United Kingdom, the United States and Australia will jointly develop advanced weapons for undersea drones as part of the second pillar of their three-way defense alliance AUKUS, UK Defense Secretary John Healey said on Saturday. «Today, we confirm also the first-ever signature project under pillar two of the AUKUS … Together, we produce a range of cutting-edge sensors and weapon systems for undersea drones,» Healey told reporters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore. These drones will be used to detect and eliminate threats to underwater cables and pipelines, the defense secretary said, adding that London had earmarked 150 million pounds ($200 million) for the project. AUKUS is a trilateral defense partnership announced by the US, the UK and Australia in September 2021. The first pillar envisages the creation of an Australian fleet of nuclear-powered submarines using US and UK technology. The second pillar involves the development of a range of technologies, including underwater robotics, quantum electronics, cybersecurity and electronic warfare capabilities, supersonic weapons and defense mechanisms against them.Russia has condemned the trilateral security pact in the Indo-Pacific, which emphasizes military cooperation and countering China, arguing that it undermines the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by transferring nuclear submarine technology to Australia, a non-nuclear-weapon state. The anti-Russian and anti-Chinese blocs being formed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region are having a destructive impact on regional stability, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said.
MilitaryUK to Spend Nearly $8 Billion on Construction of Submarines for AUKUS11 December 2025, 09:29 GMT
