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A landmark 50-year AUKUS treaty has been formally agreed between the United Kingdom and Australia, deepening bilateral defence ties, reinforcing strategic cooperation and unlocking an estimated £20 billion (AU$40.9 billion) in UK trade over the next 25 years.
The treaty underpins the delivery of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines and represents the most significant step forward in UK–Australia defence cooperation in a generation.
Announced during a joint visit to Australia by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey, the treaty reinforces the UK’s strategic commitment to the Indo-Pacific and builds on the foundations laid under the AUKUS trilateral partnership alongside the United States.
The announcement coincides with the deployment of the UK Carrier Strike Group (CSG25) and over 3,000 British troops to Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, Australia’s largest-ever multinational military exercise demonstrating the tangible commitment of the UK to Indo-Pacific security and defence interoperability.
Secretary Healey welcomed the commitment, saying, “AUKUS is one of Britain’s most important defence partnerships, strengthening global security while driving growth at home. This historic treaty confirms our AUKUS commitment for the next half century. There are people not yet born who will benefit from the jobs and security this agreement delivers.”
The UK’s contribution to the SSN-AUKUS submarine program – a new class of nuclear-powered, conventionally armed submarines – will directly support over 7,000 new jobs in the UK, particularly across the Barrow-in-Furness and Derby shipbuilding and technology precincts. At its peak, more than 21,000 personnel will be employed across the UK submarine enterprise as a result of the program.
Closer to home, it is expected that the AUKUS initiative will also inject billions into Australia’s defence and industrial sectors, with Adelaide at the centre of submarine construction and long-term workforce development.
The program is designed not only to deliver sovereign conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability to Australia but to elevate allied industrial cooperation and technology sharing to an unprecedented level.
Secretary Lammy emphasised the broader strategic significance of the treaty, adding, “The UK–Australia relationship is like no other. In a world increasingly shaped by uncertainty, this anchoring friendship protects global peace and prosperity. Our new bilateral AUKUS treaty is the embodiment of that – safeguarding a free and open Indo-Pacific while driving economic growth for both our countries.”
Secretaries Lammy and Healey’s visit coincides with AUKMIN 2025, the annual Australia–UK ministerial consultations in Sydney, where they will meet with Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong to advance cooperation on defence, trade, strategic technologies and regional diplomacy.
Following Sydney, the ministers will travel to Melbourne to engage with businesses central to the AUKUS effort, further cementing bilateral industrial ties. They will also visit Darwin, where the HMS Prince of Wales, flagship of the UK Carrier Strike Group, is docked, highlighting Britain’s presence and reach in the Indo-Pacific theatre.
Exercise Talisman Sabre, which involves over 35,000 personnel from 19 nations, including AUKUS partners and Japan, has served as a key test bed for integration of cutting-edge technologies, including robotics, autonomous systems and AI-enabled combat systems.
For the first time, AUKUS nations have demonstrated remote operation of extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles and tested autonomy-enabled targeting systems through collaborative experimentation.
The UK government’s broader Plan for Change, which includes a commitment to increase defence spending to 2.6 per cent of gross domestic product by 2027, is serving as a key foundation that is underpinned by initiatives like AUKUS, combining national security objectives with economic revitalisation through advanced manufacturing and strategic export opportunities.
With global tensions rising and technological competition intensifying, this historic treaty reaffirms Australia and the United Kingdom’s shared resolve to uphold the rules-based international order, deter coercion and shape a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
Stephen Kuper
Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.
