Washington, London and Canberra want to show their commitment to the military alliance founded in 2021.
The military alliance of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States will jointly develop new undersea drones, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Saturday.
“We are accelerating delivery of advanced capabilities to our war fighters, and together today we are pleased to announce the first AUKUS ‘Pillar Two’ signature project focused on fielding advanced uncrewed undersea vehicles, or UUVs,” Hegseth told a press conference in Singapore.
“The signature project will deliver a suite of highly adaptable multi-mission UUV payloads designed to support undersea operations and maintain our collective advantage in the maritime domain,” he said.
AUKUS is a trilateral security partnership established in 2021 by Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. It focuses on countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region by enhancing the three countries’ military capabilities through the deployment of nuclear-powered submarines, what is known as the “Pillar One” of the alliance.
The three countries also are cooperating to develop advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cyber capabilities, and other undersea and defense systems — referred to as “Pillar Two.”
The alliance encompasses Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines from the United States, the joint development of a new AUKUS-class submarine, and the creation of facilities to host U.S. and British submarines on Australian territory.
In mid-2025, the U.K. and Australia scrambled to reassure Washington of their commitment to AUKUS after the Pentagon ordered a review of the pact, fueling fears that the United States could retreat from the agreement. Those concerns eased in October, when U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his backing for the alliance.
“The United States, as we’ve said from the beginning, and we think the review we undertook only strengthened this partnership, remains committed to the AUKUS partnership and is moving as quickly as possible to enhance our combined submarine presence in the Pacific region,” Hegseth said on Saturday.
“This is the three countries putting real capability that we will put into the hands of the warfighter next year, and we are enormously pleased that we have been able to reach agreement,” said Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles at the same press conference.
“For too long with AUKUS, we’ve talked too much and delivered too little,” said U.K. Minister of Defence John Healey. “That has now changed under our three governments, and as President Trump has said, we are now full steam ahead on AUKUS.”