Australian Defense Minister Marles denied that the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States may be suspended due to the domestic political rotation of individual member states, Australian Defense Minister Marles at a joint press conference on Friday (December 1). Marles stressed that the cooperation has received support from both the government and the opposition in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom have announced cooperation in high-tech areas such as deep space radar, artificial intelligence and quantum computing systems to strengthen the armed forces of the three countries against growing global threats.
The three defense ministers met on Friday (December 1) in Silicon Valley, California, to discuss further advancing cooperation with the Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States Trilateral Security Partnership (AUKUS).
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the meeting highlighted AUKUS as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to promote peace and security across the Indo-Pacific region." "We use our respective defense innovation and industrial sectors to develop and roll out advanced capabilities that allow our warfighters to hear, see, and act with a decisive advantage. The conference focused on advancing cutting-edge scientific and technological cooperation, including the development of "deep space radar capabilities," with the aim of enabling all three countries to have radar detection stations and the ability to peer into space 35,000 kilometers by 2040.
The three countries will also coordinate quantum technology to assist navigation and orientation, while developing "resilient" artificial intelligence (AI) to improve shooting accuracy.
"The world is more dangerous today: Russia is at war with Ukraine, Hamas is wreaking havoc in the Middle East, and China is breaking freedom of navigation rules in the Indo-Pacific," British Defense Minister Sharps said. We have never needed more innovation and pioneering than we do now. ”
In response to maritime threats, the defense ministers of the three countries announced on Friday the launch of a joint experimental program for an unmanned maritime defense system. According to the plan, the crews of the US Navy's maritime reconnaissance and attack aircraft on missions in the Pacific waters will use AI algorithms to quickly process sonar data collected by underwater equipment in the United States, Britain and Australia to enhance anti-submarine combat capabilities.
A U.S. senior security ** told Nikkei that AI algorithms will be used to process and share the vast amounts of data collected by the P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft.
Bloomberg reported that this technology will allow the United States, Britain and Australia to track Chinese submarines faster and more accurately.
In addition to saying that the growth rate of China's nuclear arsenal exceeded expectations, the U.S. Department of Defense released a report on China's nuclear arsenal in October, and also said that the Chinese Navy is the world's largest naval force, currently with more than 370 ships and submarines.
In addition to the technology collaboration, AUKUS also plans to launch a series of innovation challenges early next year, where industry professionals from the three countries will come up with innovative solutions to complex military challenges. The first challenge will focus on electronic warfare.
The three countries will also convene an AUKUS Industrial Forum with the participation of representatives of the ** and defense industries;The first forum is scheduled for the first half of 2024.