The navies of AUKUS partners Australia, the UK, and the US recently tested their ability to remotely operate uncrewed vessels from more than 10,000 miles (16,093 kilometers) away.
As part of a series of military experiments known as Maritime Big Play, navy personnel from the trinational alliance controlled ships in Australian waters from a command center in Portugal.
According to a Royal Navy announcement, the uncrewed vessels successfully completed “a range of missions,” though specific details were not disclosed.
“The successes experienced … show how close we are to realizing our ambition of a genuine team of crewed and uncrewed systems, capable of operating and prevailing everywhere on the planet,” Royal Navy Director Develop James Parkin noted.
AUKUS Tech Investments to Counter China
The AUKUS alliance was formed with the primary aim of promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific.
As China increasingly asserts its claims in the region, Britain, Canberra, and Washington have been strengthening their collaboration with a focus on technology sharing.
Last year, the alliance announced a major project that will see the joint development of nuclear-powered submarines with enhanced stealth and range.
Additionally, in August, they revealed the successful maiden test of artificial intelligence-enabled drones in a “real-time military environment.”
The AUKUS partners will continue to advance their military technology, bringing together approximately 30 systems in a large-scale demonstration later this year.
