Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what milestones have been established for the next operational phases of the AUKUS security partnership.

Under Pillar I, we are midway through the Detailed Design and Long Lead (D2L2) phase, and next year we will cut steel on the first UK SSN-AUKUS submarine.

Under Pillar II, in September 2026, Project Broadsword saw the Excalibur XLUUV adapted with a specialist management system to successfully fire and control a US Mk48 heavyweight torpedo. We are also approaching our greatest demonstration of trilateral cooperation and interoperability at Maritime Big Play Pacific (Oct 2026). The first payloads from the UUV payload Signature Project will be delivered in 2027.