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Australian Minister for Defence Industry and Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy has confirmed closer ties with the United Kingdom and the upcoming visit of a UK carrier strike group to Darwin.
Minister Conroy recently met with UK Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry Maria Eagle at Fleet Base East in Sydney to review Australia–UK defence industry and capability collaboration and explore new opportunities
The visit also included the announcement that the UK’s Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, and its carrier strike group will make an appearance in Darwin later this year.
“As we look forward to Exercise Talisman Sabre later this year, where UK and Australian Forces will again train side by side, it’s just one more example of our defence cooperation,” Minister Eagle said.
“For the first time since 1997, a UK carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales will visit Australia docking in Darwin, and in the face of increasing global threats, the UK and Australia remain the greatest of friends, and among the closest of defence partners.
“We have to keep on track with Pillar I (of AUKUS), making sure that submarines are delivered on time, and we also have to look at what we can do in Pillar II to have some joint effort to make that a reality.”
Minister Conroy elaborated on advances made in the British-led Operation Kudu to train more than 50,000 Ukrainian troops in the UK, as well as Australian graduates undertaking submarine-related study in the United States.
“Together, Australia and the United Kingdom stand shoulder to shoulder against challenges to the rules-based global order,” Minister Conroy said.
“Later this year, in fact in the next month or two, the UK carrier strike group will visit Australia and will visit Darwin, and we’re very excited to see the carrier strike group in Australian waters.
“Together we’re training brave Ukrainian citizens under Operation Kudu right now to go back to their homeland to fight for freedom and against oppression.
“Australian sailors are graduating from training in both the UK and United States right now … I’ve been particularly proud about how well our officers have been doing in the training courses and in fact, the latest training course through the US Reactor School, Australian submariners finished second, third and fifth. So, we’re hitting all the major milestones.
“Long‑lead items have been ordered for the first of the Australian reactors to go into SSN AUKUS. I’m looking at getting over to the United Kingdom to inspect that. Design work on SSN AUKUS is continuing at pace, and industrial cooperation is also ramping up, for example, a great Australian company, Pacific Marine Batteries is supplying batteries right now into the UK nuclear program. So, they’re the major milestones coming up, with a particularly Australia–UK flavour.”
