Anthony Albanese in US amid new AUKUS defence technology plan
Anthony Albanese has arrived in the US for a four-day trip as the AUKUS partners finalise a new plan to accelerate the second pillar of the security pact.
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The Prime Minister has arrived in the US for a four-day trip including a prestigious state dinner at the White House.
It comes as the AUKUS partners are putting the finishing touches on a new plan to accelerate the second pillar of the security pact, with Australia prioritising autonomous military technology, information warfare and quantum computing.
The deal could be unveiled as soon as this week, during Anthony Albanese’s state visit to meet US President Joe Biden in Washington DC, although officials are conscious that would cut out the British government.
Australia has also ramped up the pressure on the US Congress to reform export control laws that will otherwise hamper the second plank of AUKUS to jointly develop advanced defence capabilities.
“This visit will of course be focused on building an alliance for the future. Progressing our AUKUS pact is critical to that, ensuring Australia plays our part in upholding the stability, security and prosperity of our region,” the prime minister said last week.
Australia’s Chief Defence Scientist Tanya Munro foreshadowed the announcement last month while acknowledging that the three countries needed to be “very deliberate about what we conceal and what we reveal”.
Details of the second pillar – on top of Australia’s $368bn commitment to acquire nuclear submarines – have been closely held since the pact was unveiled more than two years ago.
But officials have been meeting in working groups across technologies including artificial intelligence, hypersonic missiles and advanced cyber, which Prof Munro said had been a “forcing function for winnowing down what we do” to meet frontline security needs.
Speaking at the Center for a New American Security last month, she suggested Australia was focused on autonomous technology, automated intelligence and information warfare tools, and the “very significant disruption coming” through quantum.
“Taking the human from danger, having the ability to deliver strategic surprise – that for me is going to change the calculus of deterrence and conflict,” she said.
US Department of Defence under secretary for research and engineering Heidi Shyu earlier confirmed the President “will be announcing” a plan before the end of November which she had pitched to US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who “loved” it.
“We’re flushing out the details on the critical technology,” she said, suggesting the three countries had agreed on “a portfolio of capabilities” to prioritise.
Mr Austin met with his British counterpart Grant Shapps last week at the Pentagon to discuss issues including “the generational opportunity of the AUKUS program”.
Prof Munro said the working groups “eliminated the boundaries between our nations in terms of trust and collaboration”, as she praised Ms Shyu for the “very, very deep partnership”.
Australia’s submarine plan – which has also faced a roadblock in Congress as Republicans warned selling boats to Australia could compromise their needs – received a boost on Saturday as Mr Biden unveiled a $US3.4bn boost for America’s submarine industrial base.
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