Pillar Two of US, UK, Australia alliance will steer from nuclear subs to cutting edge tech, a shift that may appeal to Canada and New Zealand
As the US gets AUKUS Pillar Two up to speed, its focus on non-nuclear technologies may open opportunities for countries like Canada and New Zealand to join the emerging defense alliance.
This month, Defense One reported that the Pentagon is pushing for the next phase of the AUKUS defense-technology pact involving the US, UK, and Australia, focusing on advanced technologies like AI, autonomy, electronic warfare, hypersonics and quantum technologies.
Defense One mentions that this initiative, known as Pillar Two of AUKUS, follows Pillar One, which aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines by the early 2040s.
The report notes that critical aspects of Pillar Two include AI integration on submarine-hunting aircraft and testing of unmanned gear. However, it says its success hinges on the US Congress amending laws restricting sensitive technology exports.
The US Pentagon has emphasized the importance of these legislative changes for AUKUS’s long-term success, particularly for deeper and broader capability collaboration, according to the report.
Defense One mentions that concerns about potential security risks have been raised, fearing that easing export restrictions could result in adversaries like China gaining access to sensitive and secret US technology.
Despite those concerns, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has announced new milestones for Pillar Two, including trilateral experiments and exercises starting next year to enhance autonomous maritime systems’ capabilities and interoperability.
The Defense One report mentions that the Pentagon plans to deploy AI algorithms on P-8 submarine-hunting planes used by all three alliance nations. The report says this will allow for shared processing of sonobuoy data, thus improving anti-submarine warfare. It also notes that this year AUKUS demonstrated technologies like autonomous swarms and trusted robotics.
Source: Asia Times
