AUKUS Trilateral Advanced Capabilities Forum bring industry together for first time

• Four UK trade associations have partnered to form the first Trilateral AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum
• Forum – with the support of ADS, Make UK Defence, the Society of Maritime Industries (SMI) and techUK - will bring trilateral industry together for the first time
• First Forum took place in the US with a substantial UK delegation

ADS, Make UK Defence, SMI, and techUK are delighted to announce the establishment of an “AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum” that will see the participation of 12 Trade Associations representing the Australian, US and UK industry in the aerospace, defence, security, maritime and tech sectors alongside senior government officials from the three allied partners.

The establishment of the “AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum” will enable the three countries to deliver on the initial promises of Pillar II and its eight advanced capabilities.  The Forum is the key interface between AUKUS governments and industrial bases, via our trade associations. It will focus on trilateral requirements, capability planning, development, and delivery of AUKUS Advanced Capabilities. The Industry Forum provides an opportunity for government and industry representatives to come together to exchange ideas and deepen industrial collaboration on advanced capabilities.

The first AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum took place in Washington D.C.

Image credit: Matthew Evans and Frederick Sugden

Joint Statement from the UK’s ADS, Make UK Defence, SMI and techUK

With the return of systemic competition with aggressive actors, UK strategic advantage will increasingly rely on a collective capacity to lay the foundations for an effective implementation of AUKUS Pillar I and Pillar II. The ability to do so will depend on our collective commitment to promote a culture of industrial cooperation, underwriting AUKUS initiatives.

The Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum represents a unique and first of its kind opportunity to strengthen industry-government trilateral cooperation. Such cooperation is essential to making the AUKUS partnership a whole-of-nation endeavour for each respective party, with industrial synergies propelling innovation in the development of advanced capabilities.

The inaugural meeting took place last week, focused on the foundations to ensure an enduring endeavour. Updates were provided on the key legislative and regulatory reforms (ITAR), the recently published EW Innovation Challenge and future activity. Our next Forum will be in the margins of Farnborough International Airshow to further progress key areas of co-operation.

On behalf of UK industry, we firmly believe that the Forum’s role in bringing our trilateral defence industries together is the clearest guarantee to unleashing the true potential of AUKUS Pillar II.

News Media Contact

For ADS Group, please contact Freya Lewis, Head of External Communications at ADS Group on Freya.lewis(at)adsgroup.org.uk 

For MakeUK Defence, please contact Mark Swift on 0207 654 1576 MSwift(at)makeuk.org or Hilary Douglas on 07818 513637 HDouglas(at)makeuk.org.

For SMI, please contact Katie Lafferty on Katie.Lafferty(at)maritimeindustries.org