Uncrewed undersea capabilities strengthen AUKUS partnership
15 November 2023
Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States have conducted a combined exercise off the east coast of Australia testing autonomous undersea warfare capabilities.
The Integrated Battle Problem 23-3 exercise demonstrated the strength of AUKUS partners’ maritime collaboration. A range of modified commercial and military autonomous systems were deployed, in conjunction with existing capabilities, in order to test trilateral undersea warfare objectives.
During the exercise, Australia’s new undersea support vessel, Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Guidance, hosted a range of undersea capabilities for testing at sea. The UK’s offshore patrol vessel, HMS Tamar, which is on a five-year deployment to the Indo-Pacific, also played a key role. HMS Tamar used a combination of divers and autonomous underwater vehicles to conduct mine-countermeasure operations and monitor critical infrastructure, including pipelines and communication cables.
The successful trial demonstrates significant progress in the development of undersea warfare capabilities under AUKUS. It highlighted how, through collaboration with our collective industrial bases, AUKUS partners can operate uncrewed and remote capabilities to effectively support decisions and engage targets in the maritime domain.
AUKUS partners will continue to undertake the development of advanced capabilities in a transparent way. AUKUS complements our other partnerships, in line with collective efforts across the region to promote a free, open and peaceful Indo-Pacific.
Source: Defence Press Release