Defence tests autonomous capabilities during EX AUKUS Maritime Big Play

During last year’s Australian-led EX Maritime Big Play, AUKUS military operators and technical experts tested and employed approximately 30 next-generation capabilities in a tactical setting, said Defence in a media release issued this month, working with industry in real time to adapt and challenge their capabilities in demanding conditions.

More than 200 defence personnel, scientists, and industry participants from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States came together on Australia’s east coast to test cutting-edge autonomous capabilities as part of EX AUKUS Pillar II Maritime Big Play. Commencing in late-2025, this exercise built upon successful Maritime Big Play experimentation conducted in Australia in August and September 2025, with Japan participating in the August activity. EX Maritime Big Play has largely superceded EX Autonomous Warrior which ran every year at Jervis Bay.

“Maritime Big Play is integrating autonomous systems across our trilateral forces. That’s how we strengthen deterrence – with practical capability we can employ together” said Dr Kate Cameron, acting FAS AUKUS Advanced Capabilities. “Maritime Big Play is transforming innovation into tangible capability advantage for the Australian Defence Force and the AUKUS partnership – this is an example of AUKUS Pillar II in action.”

Australian-developed capabilities were at the forefront of the exercise, with Innovaero’s OWL-B one-way-attack munition used to strike a target at range, and C2 Robotics’ Speartooth large uncrewed underwater vehicle used as a test bed to trial and demonstrate novel payload configurations.

The Australian AUKUS Pillar II Electronic Warfare Innovation Challenge winners, delivered through Defence’s Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), also participated, with Advanced Design Technology’s GRASSHOPPER payload, and PentenAmio’s Next Generation Electronic Deception capability tested during the exercise.

“The opportunity for our AUKUS Innovation Challenge partners ADT and PentenAmio to demonstrate their capability in Maritime Big Play has been incredibly valuable,” said MAJGEN Hugh Meggitt, Head of ASCA. “Industry access to real‑world training environments is essential—they provide a platform for us to rigorously test, validate and strengthen our capability in conditions that mirror operational requirements. It ensures the technologies we deliver are proven, resilient and ready to support Defence when and where it counts.”