Weapons Research Establishment

Updated AUKUS pact has ‘get-out clause’ for US and UK. An updated AUKUS agreement and political ‘understanding’ between the countries includes an escape clause if the US or UK decides the pact weakens their own nuclear submarine programs. Treaty documents tabled in parliament on Monday will allow the US and Britain to pull out of the deal with just one year’s notice if they decide it threatens their own nuclear submarine programs. Defence Minister Richard Marles said the new 51-year agreement was a major AUKUS milestone, and came on top of “significant progress”, including the passage of enabling legislation in the US. The documents, including a revamped #AUKUS agreement and a new political “understanding”, commit the nation’s AUKUS partners to make “best efforts” to supply nuclear materials and equipment to Australia over the next 50 years. See https://lnkd.in/g7wMaGxb AUKUS Forum, Michael Sharpe 🇦🇺🇬🇧🇺🇸

Unleash AUKUS with High Speed Rail. Integrating AUKUS, Manufacturing, and National Security: A Vision for Australia's Future. Australia is on the brink of a transformative journey that promises to redefine its economic landscape and bolster national security. A visionary initiative known as "Tracks to Trade" integrates high-speed freight rail with manufacturing hubs and affordable housing, setting the stage for sustained growth and resilience across the nation. This initiative is more than AUKUS, more than manufacturing and value-adding and builds on Australia’s strengths in agriculture and critical minerals wealth—it is an ambition for a stronger Australia. South Australia’s Premier Peter Malinauskas highlighted the complexity and scale of this undertaking, stating, “AUKUS is not just a big project. It is exceptionally complicated. It will require not just raw intelligence but acute skills. For our interests to be realized, we need the whole nation to be putting into the effort; otherwise, we will compromise our ability to meet the very aggressive timelines we have in front of us. There is no more complex undertaking on the planet than building a nuclear submarine. And I don’t think the rest of the country is necessarily attuned to the scope of this task. We need to change our thinking about AUKUS and what it means for Australia. We need to think of AUKUS as placing a demand on virtually every agency you can think of—housing, education, logistics, transport, engineering, training, and skills. It’s a cross-government effort, an all-in effort.” Central to this transformation is the integration of a high-speed rail link connecting these regions to Darwin for freight and national security. This connection will facilitate the efficient movement of materials and components essential for submarine construction and other defence projects. By incorporating defence supply chains with "Tracks to Trade," the power of #AUKUS can be fully unleashed. By Michael Sharpe, CEO at the AUKUS Forum 🇦🇺 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Read more https://lnkd.in/gx65bDRK

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In a surprise move, the former White House security adviser will join the “formidable team” announced Tuesday to lead Britain’s Strategic Defense Review. Her appointment is the latest indication that the newly elected Labour government is keen to make inroads with Republicans ahead of the increasingly likely prospect of a Trump victory in the U.S. election in November. A British-born Russia expert, Hill served as a national security adviser to the former president for two years until 2019. The daughter of a coal miner from the northeast of England, Hill moved to the U.S. to study her post-graduate degree in Russian at Harvard and later worked as an intelligence analyst under both the Bush and Obama administrations before being hired to work for Trump. Since leaving the White House, she has continued to be an influential voice on Vladimir Putin's Russia, last year telling POLITICO that the war in Ukraine is a "proxy war against the United States." https://lnkd.in/gATbsQnF

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Establishing New Industries with #AUKUS AUKUS Forum Chief Executive Michael Sharpe shares the latest insights. 🇦🇺🇬🇧🇺🇸 Missile Manufacturing Industry: Australia currently lacks a domestic missile manufacturing industry, but the strategic imperative to develop this capability is clear. A key recommendation of the Defence Strategic Review is to accelerate and expand weapons systems, including land-based maritime strike and long-range missile capabilities. This expansion will be complemented by investments to replenish weapons and explosive ordnance stocks and establish in-country missile and munition manufacturing facilities. In the next two decades, Defence projects an investment of around AUD $100 billion in guided weapons. This substantial investment underscores the importance of developing a robust domestic missile manufacturing capability. Given the challenges in global supply chains and the shifting geopolitical landscape, enhancing domestic production of guided weapons is crucial for ensuring national security and strategic autonomy. See https://lnkd.in/gBHhvDAZ

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We Will Remember Them #LestWeForget

Nominations now open for industry leaders and researchers across the #AUKUS member nations to be involved with the Advanced Materials and Steel Taskforce ✅

The US House of Representatives is on track to overturn the Biden administration’s surprise request to buy only one Virginia-class submarine in 2025, which had raised fears the US Navy wouldn’t be able to supply Australia with promised nuclear-powered submarines under the #AUKUS security pact. The powerful House Armed Services Committee on Monday (Tuesday AEST) has doubled to two the number of Virginia-class submarines the US government will buy in 2025, putting congress on track to increase production of the critical vessels which Australia is meant to start purchasing in the early 2030s. The Biden administration in its March 2025 budget proposal had indicated it would purchase only one of the submarines in 2025, far below the annual number required (around three per year on average) to satisfy both the US and Australian navies’ future needs. “Authorising the second boat through incremental funding authority, which restores the two-per-year procurement rate and allows the Navy to contract for two submarines in FY25, will provide additional resources to ensure all suppliers are covered and increase the inventory of attack submarines for the Navy,” said Democratic Party congressman Joe Courtney. “Given the critical need for attack submarines across the globe and the impending decision to certify the sale of three submarines to Australia starting in 2032, the subcommittee mark takes decisive action – as required in Article One of the US Constitution – to add back the second submarine,” Mr Courtney added in a statement. “This effort demonstrates congress’s iron-clad commitment to fulfilling the AUKUS security partnership and will make it easier for the future president to certify the sale of three Virginia-class submarines beginning in 2032,” https://lnkd.in/gU8t-4P4