The AUKUS agreement between the United States, Britain and Australia involves more than just nuclear submarines. The three countries announced the establishment of an international Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) network to monitor space beyond geostationary orbit. Sometimes a defense deal might simply involve selling a dilapidated frigate to another navy in exchange for base access. Sometimes it's like pulling a thread on a knitted sweater and the thread gets longer and longer.
As far as AUKUS is concerned, it started as a treaty to share British and American nuclear technology to allow Australia to build conventionally armed nuclear attack submarines. It has now become a large-scale interweaving of the military and technical capabilities of the three countries, marking a major shift in Indo-Pacific policy.
According to a joint statement issued by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marrs, and British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, AUKUS also includes training of Australian personnel at U.S. Navy and British Royal Navy nuclear facilities, regular visits to Australia by British and U.S. submarines, simplified trade controls and information sharing, defense and industrial cooperation among the three countries, and cooperation on a range of advanced projects, including autonomous maritime systems, artificial intelligence, anti-submarine warfare, quantum navigation and more.
One such program is DARC, whose technology the U.S. Space Force has already conducted limited testing. The idea is to establish three deep space tracking stations in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. The first will be built and put into use in Australia in 2026, the second in the UK, the most likely location is Calder Barracks in Wales, and the third will be built and put into use at an unnamed location in the United States in 2030.
Each radar station will have higher sensitivity, higher accuracy, greater capacity and more agile tracking capabilities than current radar systems.
Tracking networks are not new; NATO has relied on them to warn of bomber and missile attacks since the 1950s, and the famous Judrell Bank radio telescope was partly funded under a secret agreement that required it to help target any incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles from Warsaw Pact signatories. The novelty is that DARC does not just scan the upper atmosphere and low Earth orbit, but conducts detailed scans of the sky 21,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) away 24 hours a day, 24 hours a day.
According to the partners, DARC will enable AUKUS nations to identify potential threats to military and civilian satellites and systems, help deter conflicts, better address space traffic management issues, and support the growing commercial space sector.
British Defense Secretary Shapps said: "As the world becomes increasingly competitive and the dangers of space warfare increase, the UK and our allies must ensure we have the advanced capabilities we need to maintain national security. The global radar network announced today based in the UK, US and Australia will do just that. It will enhance the UK's ability to detect, track and identify deep space objects."