UK sets pace on new undersea sensors to detect threats, as AUKUS partners test advanced kit in San Diego

UK to lead development of three pioneering payloads for uncrewed underwater vehicles, as part of AUKUS security partnership

Announcement wraps up Maritime Big Play exercise in San Diego, enhancing integration of uncrewed systems across AUKUS fleets in another step towards a UK Hybrid Navy

Work builds on AUKUS Pillar II framework, strengthening security and deterrence across Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific

The UK will lead the next stage of delivery of cutting-edge undersea sensing technologies which will be deployed from uncrewed underwater vessels as part of the AUKUS security partnership.

The announcement rounds off a week of testing and demonstrations at the Maritime Big Play exercise in San Diego.

This advances the first signature project under AUKUS Pillar 2 - announced in May as part of the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and the United States - seeks to pool the innovation of each nations’ defence sector to develop advanced military capabilities to strengthen deterrence and security around the world.

The UK will lead development and delivery of three pioneering sensor payloads for uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs): a Synthetic Aperture Sonar, a Deployable Anti-Submarine Warfare Sensor, and a Deployable Non-Kinetic Effector.

These capabilities will collect detailed underwater information, deploy sensors to detect and classify underwater threats, and generate underwater effects. The payloads will help UUVs provide surveillance of large ocean areas and protect underwater infrastructure.

The payloads will be available across the three nations’ UUV fleets from 2027, enhancing the reach and effectiveness of those fleets and reinforcing strategic deterrence across the Euro-Atlantic, High North and Indo-Pacific.