AUKUS
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 24 of the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, what progress has he made in doubling down on both pillars of the AUKUS agreement and using Pillar 2 to test and develop a template for future technology partnerships.
Answered by Ministry of Defence
The Government is all in on AUKUS by moving both pillars from commitment into delivery.
Under Pillar I, £6 billion has been committed to the submarine industrial base to support the development of the future SSN-AUKUS fleet, with up to 12 submarines planned and steel due to be cut on the first boat in 2027. Alongside this, Australian personnel are already embedded across UK Defence and industry, supporting the workforce, skills and knowledge transfer needed to deliver this trilateral programme.
Under Pillar II, the partnership is increasingly demonstrating how future technology collaborations between trusted allies can operate in practice. The first AUKUS Signature Project, the development of a cutting edge UUV payloads, was announced by Defence Ministers in May 2026. More broadly, Pillar II is testing the principles that underpin successful multinational capability programmes, including shared requirements, interoperability by design, early industry involvement and reforms that enable faster technology sharing, collaboration and capability deployment.
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