UK and Australia boost radar technology and industry cooperation as Defence Minister visits Indo

UK and Australia boost radar technology and industry cooperation as Defence Minister visits Indo-Pacific partners

The UK and Australia are boosting cooperation on radar technology, as Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard MP kicks off a visit to Indo-Pacific partners this week.

Minister Pollard and Minister Conroy alongside industry in front of the radar. Copyright: CEA

The statement of intent involving QinetiQ and CEA Technologies, signed today in Canberra, will see both UK and Australian governments and industry work together on advanced radar systems, known as Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology.

The work builds on the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) agreement reached in June and will strengthen supply chains and open export opportunities for both nations’ defence industries. This advanced technology is supplied to the Australian Armed Forces and allows the UK Armed Forces to keep pace with the evolving operational environment.

At CEA Technologies, Minister Pollard and Australian Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy welcomed the agreement and met with staff advancing radar technology.

This radar agreement shows what our partnership with Australia delivers in practice: industry stepping up, technology for our Armed Forces, and trust between our nations deepening.

Working in lockstep with Australia we can drive jobs and growth while reinforcing our collective security.

QinetiQ’s unique expertise positions us as a strategic and trusted partner to the UK MOD and its allies. Current conflicts remind us of the importance of air defences which are increasingly under pressure and QinetiQ is proud to play a key role in bringing this vital technology to the UK.

The signing forms part of a week-long visit by Minister Pollard to Australia and New Zealand, reinforcing the UK’s commitment to two of its closest defence partners in the Indo-Pacific.

In Canberra, the Minister also met the Minister for Resources, Madeleine King, to strengthen UK-Australia cooperation on critical minerals, and the interim National Armaments Director, Nadine Williams, to advance shared defence capability and industrial collaboration.

In Western Australia, Minister Pollard will visit Henderson Shipyard, where investment linked to AUKUS - the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States - is already supporting skills development and industrial uplift. AUKUS is expected to create more than 10,000 jobs in Western Australia, with a further 10,000 in South Australia.

Recent supply-chain initiatives are also generating work for 39 Australian companies, while Australian personnel are embedded across UK defence and industry organisations, supporting the delivery of the AUKUS partnership.

AUKUS is also delivering for the UK, with more than 3,000 new jobs already created across key UK nuclear sites since July 2024. SSN-AUKUS submarine construction, expected to create more than 7,000 new jobs across the UK supply chain, helping to drive growth in every postcode in the UK.

The Minister will travel to New Zealand later this week, where he will visit Devonport Naval Base in Auckland and meet defence industry leaders to discuss opportunities for closer cooperation on maritime capability. A prospective UK-New Zealand maritime partnership, including Babcock’s Type 31 Frigate offer, could deliver up to 1,000 jobs and NZ£300 million of investment into the New Zealand economy, as well as opportunities for UK industry.

The visit will also include further engagements with Australian and New Zealand government ministers and stops at defence industry sites, including Rocket Lab and SYOS Aerospace.