Hegseth: AUKUS to develop unmanned undersea vehicles

The United States, Britain and Australia are working together to develop unmanned undersea vehicles as part of their trilateral AUKUS defence pact, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters on Saturday.

The programme comes under AUKUS's so-called "Pillar Two" to develop advanced defence technology including quantum computing, undersea, hypersonic, artificial intelligence and cyber technology.

"The signature project will deliver a suite of highly adaptable multi-mission UUV payloads designed to support undersea operations and maintain our collective advantage in the maritime domain," Hegseth said.

Formed by the three countries in 2021, AUKUS is part of their efforts to push back against China's growing power in the Indo-Pacific region.