New Aukus drone tech to protect critical undersea cables as Marles warns: ‘seabed is a battlefield’

Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, has said the “seabed is a battlefield” in a combative speech urging Beijing to be more transparent about its maritime operations, and taking aim at weak international controls over so-called “shadow-fleet” vessels.

The warning came as the U.S., UK and Australia announced a new Aukus project to develop new underwater drone technology to protect undersea cables.

The same announcement also revealed that Australia would buy three secondhand Virginia-class submarines from the U.S. under Aukus, instead of a mix of old and new, in a move to “simplify supply chain management, operational and maintenance requirements, and maximise cost efficiencies”.

Read more at The Guardian