Doorstop, London

Monday, 23 February 2026 (Tuesday, 24 February AEDT)

SUBJECTS: Australia-UK Defence Industry Dialogue (AUKDID) outcomes, advanced radar cooperation, collaborative combat aircraft integration, MQ-28A Ghost Bat weapons, SSN-AUKUS reactor investment.

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY PAT CONROY: Thank you for joining me tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, the Australia-UK relationship goes from strength to strength. It is one of the bedrocks of our security in particular areas, particularly in defence. The relationship is the strongest that it's been for a long, long time. We are the best of friends and we are focused on cooperating for a peaceful world where the rules-based order is observed and respected as both middle powers. 

I've just concluded the first Australia-UK Defence Industry Dialogue (AUKDID) since 2018 with my counterpart, Minister Luke Pollard. There were critical outcomes from the dialogue. They include deepening cooperation on advanced radar technology, including exploring the use of Australian radar technologies on UK projects, increasing cooperation on collaborative combat aircraft, especially looking at payload integration of UK weapons into the MQ-28A Ghost Bat, strengthening work on directed energy or laser weapons. We also flagged greater work on resilient supply chains and critical minerals. And we've also flagged an increase in a number of Australian embeds at the BAE submarine construction yard of Barrow. We're also supporting UK weapon testing of systems destined for Ukraine on Australian ranges. 

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a significant amount of progress through the defence industry dialogue. It's focused on increasing capability investments across both our countries, increasing trade between both our countries, increasing exports of our world-leading capabilities and complementing the strengths of each other's systems. This is also supported by advances in using our weapons testing ranges and focusing on areas of mutual advantage. Complementing this is an announcement I'm making today about more investments in the AUKUS program, particularly AUKUS Pillar 1, which is to acquire a nuclear-powered but conventionally armed nuclear submarine. So, today I'm announcing that we have invested $310 million in long lead items for the reactors for the first two SSN-AUKUS boats. Let me explain that another way. We've just spent $310 million acquiring the very first parts that will go into the reactors for the first two submarines that we will construct in Adelaide beginning later this decade. This project will create 20,000 high-skilled, secure jobs making the most advanced submarines in the world, equipping the Royal Australian Navy with the capabilities it needs to deter conflict in our region. 

Later this week, in fact, tomorrow I'll be travelling to Rolls-Royce Derby to inspect work on our reactors and understand progress in expanding their supply chain and their industrial base to supply us with the reactors we need for SSN-AUKUS. And on Wednesday, I'll be travelling to the BAE shipyard in Barrow to have conversations with both BAE and the UK Submarine Delivery Agency on progress on the design of SSN-AUKUS and to understand the build strategy and the ramping up of their work. 

So, in summary, good work is happening. The defence relationship between Australia and the United Kingdom is going from strength to strength. Today's announcements demonstrate further integration, more work to make both our countries safer, to grow our industrial bases, to give our respective defence forces the equipment they need to make both countries safer in an increasingly uncertain world. I'm very happy to answer any questions.

JOURNALIST: Thanks, Minister. On the reactor issue there that you mentioned. So, these are the very first components that will go in one of the Australian-built submarines. Are these reactors, are they already under construction? Like, what's the sort of state they're in?

MINISTER CONROY: Well then the purchases that I've announced today have occurred over two years and they are for the very first parts to go into these reactors. So, this is the start of the construction process for these reactors.

JOURNALIST: How is the timeline for the AUKUS project? Are we behind, in front, on track?

MINISTER CONROY: We're on track. We're hitting all major milestones for the AUKUS project. One critical milestone was the arrival of HMS Anson at HMAS Stirling yesterday, Sunday, Australian time. This was the first time we'll see a submarine maintenance period occur for a UK Astute class submarine. And this is all about getting us sovereign ready for first SRF-West in 2027 and then to look after our own Virginia-class submarines in the early 2030s. This has been complemented by the significant investment we've announced in Henderson and the $30 billion investment in the Osborne construction yard that Prime Minister Albanese, the South Australian Premier and I announced, I think a week ago. That announcement and that $30 billion investment will build the only submarine yard in the southern hemisphere capable of constructing a nuclear-powered submarine and will create 20,000 jobs across the nation. So, we are on track. This is a challenging project. This is a project that is the greatest industrial undertaking Australia has ever attempted. But it will also be nation-shaping in terms of modernising our manufacturing sector.

JOURNALIST: When was your last discussion with your counterparts in the United States?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I had discussions as recently as Saturday with key parts of the US system that included Admiral Houston, head of the US naval reactors. I had conversations with key US officials as recently as October last year when I was in the United States visiting the Pentagon.

JOURNALIST: The last AUKDID was in 2018. Why has it been so long between dialogues?

MINISTER CONROY: Oh well, you'd have to ask the last government why they didn't rejuvenate it. We had built on rebuilding those processes first through an elevated AUKMIN process, I think AUKMIN used to happen once every three years. Under Labor AUKMIN has been happening every year and so the natural extension of that was then reinstituting AUKDID to do the defence industry side of that work.

JOURNALIST: Just the reactors. Is that… Critics of the project… Is this a sort of a message to them? Hey, this thing is starting to be real. It's tangible, it's no longer, it's moving beyond the realms of being a paper ship sort of thing, you know, for the AUKUS-class submarines.

MINISTER CONROY: Oh, it's very real. Like if you think about any of the key milestones or practical manifestations of this project. Work has begun constructing the shipyard in Osborne. Huge amounts of work has been done at HMAS Stirling to get that ready for SRF-West. We've ordered, and the first parts, long lead items for the reactors are beginning to flow through the system. We've awarded contracts to Australian companies to supply parts or to tender for parts for both US and UK submarines. Pacific Maritime Batteries has won work providing batteries not just for UK submarines but will provide batteries for the AUKUS boats out of Port Adelaide. So, the critics of AUKUS confound me because often they operate in a fact-free environment. We're hitting every milestone and the practical manifestation of the cooperation is occurring every day.

JOURNALIST: And just in your preamble, you mentioned some of the different things in reach of agreement with the Brits. Sorry to bore my fellow journalists, but this was my past life, as Pat well knows. The radars, are we talking JORN or CFAR there? The British weapons on Ghost Bat, is that an acknowledgement that this actually will be a confirmation it will be an armed drone and not reconnaissance or suggestions? And the third issue, using ranges in Australia for testing British weapons, is that, are we talking about the Storm Shadow? I think that's the British HIMARS equivalent, is that correct?

MINISTER CONROY: So, in order of being asked, the corporation will be principally focused on what's called Active Electronically Scanned Array radars. They are radars that are mostly in the domain of CEA. JORN is a different technology, as you know, over-the-horizon radar network. So, we're looking at the AESA radars where CEA leads the world in this particular radar technology. So, we've committed to exploring how these advanced radars can be integrated into UK platforms. The second one, MQ-28 Ghost Bat, there's been a bit of a misnomer out there that it wouldn't be armed. We've been very clear that it's a multi-role collaborative combat aircraft. And in fact we had the first successful test firing of a missile from it late last year when it fired an AMRAAM, an Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, which is the medium-range missile that the Australian Air Force uses. What we're looking at now is expanding that into the European family of weapons that will potentially facilitate exports of Ghost Bat to European nations who might be interested in it. The third question was on

JOURNALIST: Long-range…

MINISTER CONROY: Oh, long range… yes, I won't comment about the specific UK weapon that may be tested at our weapon ranges. But there's a number of advanced long-range weapons that the UK is providing or looking at providing to Ukraine and obviously testing those that our world-class facilities would advantage that process and give Ukraine further assistance in a valiant struggle against Russian aggression.

JOURNALIST: The United States is withdrawing its non-essential embassy staff out of Lebanon. Is Australia following suit? Is there any change in procedure there?

MINISTER CONROY: I don't have any update to our status of our personnel in that particular area. I urge everyone, all general travellers, to follow the travel advice that's on the DFAT website. There's obviously been very high levels of warnings about going to certain areas for a long time and I advise people to follow those.

JOURNALIST: Minister, just coming back to the Ghost Bats, can we take the discussions you've had today as maybe a foreshadowing of UK purchase at some point in the near future?

MINISTER CONROY: The UK have obviously a planning process for the release of their defence industry, sorry, the Defence Investment Program and they've got their own programs of records. So, you can take it as is a commitment to look at integrating UK weapons into the Ghost Bat. The nature of these weapons are that they're often consortium. That means these weapons are used by multiple European nations. So, I wouldn't say that this is a precursor for any particular nation buying the Ghost Bat. It's about us making further investments. So, that Ghost Bat is export-ready for multiple nations. We've demonstrated that it can fire AMRAAMs, so that means that it's attractive for countries that use those US family of weapons. If we can demonstrate successful test-firing of European weapons, then that will obviously make it more attractive to European nations. At the moment it is one of only two collaborative combat aircraft that have successfully fired a missile. So, I am confident saying we've got the world's best collaborative combat aircraft and this will be the next step in that.

JOURNALIST: Can I also just ask, on the dialogue itself, you say under Labor, AUKMIN has kind of increased in frequency. How much of that has been a response to some of the less-than-predictable US foreign policy and the need to, as Mark Carney put it, kind of collaborate closely, more closely with other middle powers.

MINISTER CONROY: I'd argue that it's a response to the closing relationship based on things like AUKUS. I think that's driven the focus on AUKMIN and the rejuvenation of the relationship, whether it's that or the Free Trade Agreement. So, I think it's a response to enriching the relationship between our two countries, than a reflection on any other third country. 

JOURNALIST: Just on another issue, we've seen the Prime Minister write to Sir Keir Starmer about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and removing him from the line of succession. Is that a move that you support and how important is it? 

MINISTER CONROY: Look, we're responding to moves from the UK government. Obviously, over the last few days, the UK government has signalled that they are considering that move. What Prime Minister Albanese has done is to say that if you are going to go down that path, we would support that and we would look at moving the necessary legislation. Obviously, the way the line of succession works there's a number of countries that would have to change their laws to enable that to occur. And what Prime Minister Albanese did was write to his counterpart, Prime Minister Starmer, and say that if you want to go down that pathway, we would support.

JOURNALIST: I believe Australia is the first country to do so. Does that indicate the seriousness of what we're hearing?

MINISTER CONROY: Oh, look, I think I, like many Australians, have been profoundly disturbed by the accusations that have been levelled. We have to respect the court processes that individuals are going through. But I think that we've been very clear that we would support that move by the UK government should they intend to pursue that.

JOURNALIST: Has there been wider conversations with other Commonwealth leaders beyond the correspondence between Mr Albanese and Sir Starmer?

MINISTER CONROY: Oh, look, I'm not in a position to comment on that. That's not within my portfolio. And as a matter of course, we wouldn't normally comment on conversations of that nature. We can control what we can control. And we've been very clear that if the UK government chooses to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession, that we would support it and we would move the legislation that is necessary for the Australian component of that. Excellent. Thank you very much, everyone.

JOURNALIST: Thank you, Minister.

MINISTER CONROY: Thanks for coming. So, late in the day.

ENDS