UK sets pace on new undersea sensors to detect threats, as AUKUS partners test advanced kit in San Diego
What was announced
The UK will lead development of three advanced undersea sensor payloads for uncrewed vehicles under AUKUS, following a week of testing at the Maritime Big Play exercise in San Diego.
Key points, in the publisher's words
- UK to lead development of three pioneering payloads for uncrewed underwater vehicles, as part of AUKUS security partnership
- Announcement wraps up Maritime Big Play exercise in San Diego, enhancing integration of uncrewed systems across AUKUS fleets in another step towards a UK Hybrid Navy
- Work builds on AUKUS Pillar II framework, strengthening security and deterrence across Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific
Figures in this announcement
Each line is quoted from the original. Figures are as the publisher stated them on the day.
- “The AUKUS partnership is backed by the Defence Investment Plan, which set out £298 billion of UK defence spending over the next four years, marking the largest sustained increase since the end of the Cold War.”
- “The two companies, along with A2i (based in Dorchester) and US company MSI Transducers, make up the four suppliers that won the Maritime Innovation Challenge, and a share in £3 million of funding to develop innovative capabilities enabling the command, control and cooperation of undersea systems.”
Who and where
People
- Luke Pollard (MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport (Labour (Co-op))) · more news
UK bodies of power
- Ministry of Defence (UK government department) · more news
Constituencies of the MPs named: Plymouth Sutton And Devonport.
Where this sits in the 10 levels of power
Topics, as GOV.UK files them: Military equipment, logistics and technology.
Receipt
- Original: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-sets-pace-on-new-undersea-sensors-to-detect-threats-as-aukus-partners-test-advanced-kit-in-san-diego
- Published 2026-10-27 15:49:26 UTC
- Read by this site 2026-10-27 16:00:15 UTC from GOV.UK
- Saved copy: receipt 3136, with its SHA-256 fingerprint
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Related official news
- How we protected the UK and space in September 2026
- Prime Minister and Chancellor’s call with the President of Ukraine: 28 October 2026
- MOD appoints its first Director General Innovation
- Scottish Secretary welcomes apprenticeships at Navantia Fife yard
- UK and Poland strengthen defences on Europe's Eastern flank
- E5 Defence Ministers' Statement: 26 October 2026
- Middlesex Regiment soldier laid to rest on the Somme
- Bedfordshire soldiers laid to rest on the Western Front
More from GOV.UK
- Iran must allow the return of IAEA inspectors to all nuclear sites: UK statement at the UN Security Council
- Frodsham Solar development consent decision announced
- Government launches first ever misogny prevention fund
- Government launches first ever misogyny prevention fund
- Great North Road Solar and Biodiversity Park development consent decision announced
- Introduction of Respect Orders, Youth and Housing Injunctions
Also announced on 27 October 2026
- Statement from the Cabinet Minister for Finance - Ahead of the UK Government’s Budget
- Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
- Sixth Committee Discusses General Principles of Law, Official Immunity, Sea Level Rise as Consideration of International Law Commission Report Continues
- Twenty-Six Years after Landmark Resolution, Much Action Still Needed on Women, Peace and Security, Secretary-General Tells Security Council
- Myanmar’s Conflict Death Toll Surpasses 100,000, Third Committee Hears, as South Sudan’s Elections Risk Triggering War
- Fourth Committee Opens Debate on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space