AUKUS Forum

The Russian and Chinese bombers all took off from a Russian air base, a development first reported by Air & Space Forces Magazine and confirmed by a second U.S. official. Norad, a joint U.S. and Canadian command that protects against air threats to North America, said the Russian and Chinese planes didn’t enter U.S. or Canadian airspace and weren’t seen as a military threat. The U.S. closely monitored and intercepted the aircraft, Austin said. The Russian and Chinese planes were intercepted by U. S. F-16s and F-35s as well as Canadian CF-18s. “Norad will continue to monitor competitor activity near North America and meet presence with presence,” the command said. https://lnkd.in/gJTsbniH

Drawing a sharp contrast to the boosterism or appeals to patriotism usually seen from government and defence figures when the ambitious nature of AUKUS is questioned, Vice Admiral Mead acknowledged the project may not go smoothly. However, he said long lead times – for example 14 years to build the first submarine – and a budget contingency of 50 per cent in the $368 billion AUKUS price tag to cover cost overruns gave him comfort. “We have to be prepared for setbacks. We have to be prepared for contingency plans,” he said. “We think we’ve made a good balance on achievable dates targets. It is high risk but we have built in contingency along the way.” https://lnkd.in/gVNzZewb

As part of the #AUKUS National Workshop Series, AUKUS Forum CEO, Michael Sharpe met on-site with the team at Opie Manufacturing Group Originally started in 1962, Opie Manufacturing is still under the control of its original family owners and runs a state of the art 8000m2 manufacturing and metal processing facility in Western Sydney. Led by Tristan Opie, the company has had significant investment in new equipment and infrastructure to provide services across a range of industries. Australia’s Defence Minister, Richard Marles has said that AUKUS will take a whole of nation effort, and the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said this also creates a “whole of nation opportunity” See the latest AUKUS Forum News including the official launch of AUKUS Guardians here https://lnkd.in/gu7dviN9 Check out the AUKUS Connect Program and get involved here https://lnkd.in/g2CAX_bE

The Australian Government has shelved plans to develop the $800m-plus Ghost Bat drone as a lethal weapon after the company designing the aircraft was struck out of a US government program to supply 1000 autonomous combat jets to operate with manned fighters. The Boeing Australia uncrewed aircraft was seen as the nation’s best hope for a sophisticated “killer drone”, but senior government sources said it would now be designed as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform. It’s understood the government had anticipated Boeing would miss out on entry to the US Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, and decided with the company to pivot to a different primary mission. https://lnkd.in/gcqwx6qX

Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of operations for the US Space Force, told reporters at the Global Air Chief’s Conference today that he believes there is “room” within the US-UK-Australia agreement for his area of operations to be added to the list of the partnership’s tech dreams. The interest in developing a space based Pillar II deal comes on the heels of the US, UK and Australia announcing a trilateral basing plan for the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability in December 2023, designed to provide 24/7, all-weather capabilities to “increase the ability to detect, track, identify and characterize objects in deep space,” according to the Space Force. Elsewhere in his talk and outside the context of AUKUS, Saltzman discussed space capabilities that would of course be of interest to every member of AUKUS, including America’s ability to track China’s hypersonic missile threat. He said the Space Development Agency (SDA) is “well along” in developing a next-generation space-based missile warning system, capable of tracking hypersonic weapons. AUKUS Guardians 🇦🇺🇬🇧🇺🇸 https://lnkd.in/g_xVnhSs

Earlier this month, the aviation world was rocked with the revelation that the SM-6 air defense missile, previously used to arm warships, had made its way to arm Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters. The result was suddenly the world’s longest-range air-to-air missile, outdistancing its Russian and Chinese counterparts by a wide margin. The missile’s success will likely lead to other pairings that take advantage of America’s deep arsenal of high-tech weapons. The SM-6, developed for Navy warships, has a range of about 275 miles. That’s three times greater than the publicly stated range of AMRAAM, the U.S. Military’s current long range missile. China’s longest range air-to-air missile, the PL-15 (“Thunderbolt-15”) has a range of about 186 miles. https://lnkd.in/gHCQXab5

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

Defense Innovation Board calls on DOD to reorganize. Based on a recent study, the US Defense Innovation Board has recommended the establishment of an Undersecretary of Defense for International Industrial Cooperation. Facing confusion from industry, allies and partners about how they can best engage with military components and understand contractual and decision-making structures, the Defense Innovation Board is calling on Pentagon leadership to launch an internal reorganization and establish a new undersecretariat focused on international industrial cooperation. During their open meeting on Wednesday, members of the panel agreed upon those and other recommendations, based on a study they were tasked with delivering, called Optimizing Innovation Cooperation with Allies and Partners. “Today, the DoD does not have a central standing mechanism for interfacing with allies, partners, and international organizations, resulting in a state of considerable fragmentation, duplication, and lack of coordination across workstreams. Moreover, we observed that DoD senior leaders are stretched thin by the many duties pressed upon them, and that international defense industrial cooperation is often relegated in the face of competing priorities. The Department’s principals responsible for international cooperation accordingly struggle to devote an adequate level of attention, care, and focus to addressing the barriers and risks facing the international industrial base,” the report stated. See https://lnkd.in/e9WYnWsD

In its annual defense white paper released on Friday, Japan’s Ministry of Defense warned that the possibility of a situation similar to Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine occurring in the Indo-Pacific. Japan also again singling out China, North Korea and Russia as threats to Japan and the region. In the “Defense of Japan 2024” white paper, the MOD said the international community was facing its greatest trial since World War II, as states do not share universal values or political and economic systems. The MOD also said that risks in cyberspace and other domains are becoming more serious and other security-related global issues such as information warfare and climate change are emerging while gray-zone situations involving territorial disputes are constantly occurring. The white paper said that China was increasing its military cooperation with Russia and that the recurring joint bomber flights and joint naval sails around Japan “are clearly intended for demonstration of force against Japan.” North Korea’s ongoing efforts to increase and improve its nuclear and missile capabilities were highlighted in the report. “North Korea is focusing on qualitatively improving its nuclear and missile capabilities, such as diversifying its equipment systems and acquiring intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) means that complement its nuclear and missile operational capabilities.” https://lnkd.in/gRznperS

The future of the British-led multi-billion dollar Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), aimed at building the country's sixth-generation fighter jet, could be uncertain. The Tempest is a sixth-generation fighter jet under development to fulfill the future needs of the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) and replace the aging Eurofighter Typhoon jets. This marks the first instance of the UK developing a new fast aircraft incorporating 21st-century technology. According to the report, the GCAP project, developed in collaboration with Italy and Japan, could be at risk if the Strategic Defence Review concludes that allocating limited funds to a project that will only produce new aircraft in the mid-2030s is not the most effective way to address the more immediate threat of war with Russia. Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard said "The GCAP program is a really important program for us. We need cutting-edge capabilities. We need to make sure that when we are procuring systems, high-end systems…that we do it in the most cost-effective way, and that is by working with our partners." However, the minister added that it was not suitable for him to prejudge what might happen in the defense review. The minister's remarks came a day after a senior research fellow at the UK security think tank, the Royal United Services Institute, Justin Bronk, said that a direct war with Russia could emerge as soon as 2028. https://lnkd.in/g3hpHRU6