Hegseth says AUKUS nations to develop payloads for uncrewed undersea vehicles

The United States, Britain, and Australia are officially collaborating to develop advanced, highly adaptable payloads and enabling systems for Uncrewed Undersea Vehicles. Announced by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during the 2026 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, this is the first signature project under the AUKUS Pillar II advanced capability framework.

Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of War said "Today, we're pleased to announce the first AUKUS Pillar Two signature project, focused on fielding advanced uncrewed undersea vehicles, or UUVs. And I want to thank these two gentlemen for their leadership in ensuring we stayed on track with Pillar Two and found something critical to all three of our countries”. 

The multi-mission payloads will provide sensors and weapons systems designed to protect critical subsea infrastructure, conduct surveillance, and support anti-submarine warfare. The joint project aims to have the first operational capabilities deployed and in service starting in 2027.