Senior Military Official: Hey, good morning, everybody. Thanks very much for being here today, and for your patience. Just a couple things here.
First of all, thank you for being here. As I'm sure [the military official] mentioned, this'll all be embargoed until Reagan. But what we wanted to do is just kind of give you a quick preview of the secretary's trip to California, and then [the Senior Advisor to the Secretary] will provide you with an overview of what to expect on the secretary's speech. We will endeavor to provide you with an embargoed copy by tomorrow afternoon. We're still making some final tweaks on that, but it'll at least give you an idea of what's expected on this trip. And then to the main event -- we'll turn it over to [the Senior Defense Official], who will talk to you about this and give you a preview of the outcomes of tomorrow's meetings.
So broadly speaking, the secretary will head out tomorrow morning -- will go to Moffett Field in California, where we will visit with the Defense Innovation Unit. And while we're there, the secretary will have the opportunity to see some demonstrations that DIU has been working on in terms of capabilities. Those capabilities will focus on artificial intelligence for a small unit maneuver. He'll be seeing some capability demonstrations as it pertains to integrated air defense system for our own national air defense systems, some capability demos on tactical augmented reality, space architecture, and then virtual training for air dominance. So again, much more to follow coming out of those, but a great opportunity for the secretary to see the seminal work that DIU is doing in Silicon Valley and been working with industry and tech innovators.
From there, he will pivot to two bilats, one with the Australian defense minister and one with the U.K. defense minister, which will then culminate in a trilateral meeting for AUKUS, which, as mentioned, [the Senior Defense Official]
will go into much more detail on.
The secretary and the two ministers will do a joint -- a brief joint press conference following that trilateral meeting that will be live-streamed, so you'll have the chance to see that. And then he'll meet briefly with California Air National Guard members to thank them for what they do in support of California and the nation.
Following that, we'll head to Simi Valley, and then, of course, the next day will be the Reagan Defense Forum, where the secretary will have the opportunity to meet with some congressional leaders, followed by his keynote speech, and then return to Washington, D.C.
So, with that, I'd like to turn it over to [the Senior Advisor]to give you a preview of his speech. Any quick questions on anything before I turn it over?
SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE SECRETARY: Good morning, everybody. Thanks for being here. As [the Senior Military Official] said, we're still doing a little bit of futzing, but we will endeavor to get you something when the futzing is finished. Hope the futzing finishes.
This is going to be a major SecDef speech, and it's coming at a major moment. The theme is a bipartisan call for principled and purposeful American leadership and engagement with the world to tackle a range of urgent national security challenges and a warning about the dangers of isolation. He'll call on members of Congress in a bipartisan fashion to pass a full-year appropriation and to pass the National Security Supplemental to provide urgent security assistance to our partners in Ukraine and Israel. And then he'll make a pretty full-throated case for the importance of American leadership in ensuring that the world that has been built by American leadership is maintained by American leadership.
He will argue that the rules-based international order, as he's richly spoken about beforehand, is not some abstract piece of jargon, but a towering achievement of human government, something that has given our country and the entire world an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity since 1945. He will argue that peace is non-self-executing, that order does not maintain itself, and he will argue that the troubles of our time will only grow worse without strong and steady American leadership to defend the rules-based order that keeps us safe.
I'll give you one sort of key quote he will say. And again, this is all embargoed until delivery. But he will say, ", in every generation, some Americans prefer isolation to engagement, and they try to pull up the drawbridge. They try to kick loose the cornerstone of American leadership and they try to undermine the security architecture that has produced decades of prosperity without great power war. And you'll hear some people try to brand an American retreat from responsibility as bold, new leadership. So, when you hear that, make no mistake: It is not bold, it is not new, and it is not leadership."
I'll give you another quote from that section. He will say, "Over the long sweep of American history, the cost of courage has always been war, but the cost of cowardice and the cost of abdication has always far outweighed the cost of leadership."
Another one: "The world will only become more dangerous if tyrants and terrorists believe that they can get away with wholesale aggression and mass slaughter." And again, check these against delivery; still working.
He'll talk about the need for principled American leadership on the key challenges pressing in the Middle East, Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the department's pacing challenge from the People's Republic of China. On Israel, he'll underscore the -- America's commitment to Israel's security is ironclad, and that we'll continue to do everything that we can to help release every hostage being held by Hamas, including American citizens. He will outline our stronger force posture in the region and warn that Iran is playing with fire. He'll make clear that attacks on American personnel must stop.
He'll also talk about some of the lessons that he learned while leading the international Coalition to Defeat ISIS. He'll note that one of the key lessons that he's learned about urban warfare in the region and that we can win in urban warfare by protecting civilians. The lesson is that you can only win in urban warfare by protecting civilians; that if two things are true, any state has a duty to respond to a terrorist assault like October 7th, and every state has a duty to protect civilians during armed conflict, and he'll reiterate the long-standing U.S. call for a two-state solution as the only viable way that has ever been proposed to resolve the tragic Israeli-Palestinian conflict and prevent it from generating further instability and insecurity.
He'll then turn to Ukraine, and of course, he was in Kyiv last week. He'll underscore the importance of the supplemental to keep the Ukrainians in the fight to defend themselves against Russian aggression, and he'll again underscore some of the themes in his Halifax speech about why Ukraine matters so profoundly for American security and global security, including this stark and direct threat that Putin's war poses to security in Europe and beyond, the challenge to our NATO allies, the impact on our shared values of democracy. And these include -- and he'll make clear that Putin's war is a frontal assault on the rules-based international order that has kept us all secure since 1945.
He’ll also make clear that, if we do -- that if we do not continue to stand up to the Kremlin's naked aggression today, if there are other would-be aggressors, it would only embolden them and invite even more bloodshed and chaos. We'll make clear that that matters not just in Europe but also in the Indo-Pacific, which is so central to our strategy.
He'll argue that 2023 will be remembered as, really, a historic year for implementing our defense strategy and aid, including a series of major improvements to our force posture and extraordinary cooperation with our allies and partners that ranges from a new road map, the defense industrial cooperation with India; expansion of our defense agreement with the Philippines to allow U.S. access to more Philippine facilities; a historic defense cooperation agreement with Papua New Guinea and the Japan there; the tailored deterrence strategy with our allies in the Republic of Korea; and deepening our AUKUS partnership with our British and Australian allies.
He’ll highlight that our strength abroad is rooted in our strength at home and our ability to say ahead of coming challenges and make a full-throated case for our investments in innovation in our defense industrial base and above all in our people, who remain our greatest single strategic asset.
He will note that about $50 billion of our supplemental budget request would flow through our defense industrial base, which will help create or support tens of thousands of good American jobs in more than 30 states. And he will wrap up by underscoring the importance of this, what the president has called "a huge moment in history."
And I'll give you one more quote, which is "So, in this uncertain hour, at this time of testing, the world looks to America again, and we must not give our friends, our rivals or our foes any reason to doubt America's resolve."
Other broad strokes, the rest of it, is coming soon to an inbox near you. And let me turn it over to my other colleagues. Thank you very much.
MILITARY OFFICIAL: Thanks. So good morning, everybody. What we're going to do now is turn to [the Senior defense official] to have a discussion with you on the defense ministerial meeting that is before us and AUKUS Pillar I and Pillar II deliverables. And just a reminder, this portion of our engagement today is embargoed until the defense ministerial meeting joint press briefing, which will be held tomorrow, December 1st, at 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time and 7 p.m. Eastern. The remarks are attributable to a senior defense official.
With that,[the senior defense official]?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Thanks. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for taking the time to join us today. On September 15, 2021, the U.S., U.K. and Australia established the AUKUS partnership. AUKUS promotes a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable in support of the national defense strategy. The secretary is hosting a defense ministers' meeting tomorrow with his counterparts, Secretary Shapps from the U.K. and Deputy Prime Minister Marles.
We're really looking forward to hosting them at the Defense Innovation Unit in California this year. This will be our second defense ministers meeting. We hosted the first one here in Washington last December. These engagements are great opportunities for the secretary to convene with his counterparts to review and accelerate our progress.
And I want to preview some of what we're going to be announcing tomorrow. We often talk about AUKUS in terms of pillars. The first pillar of AUKUS involves Australia's acquisition of a sovereign, conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarine capability, as soon as possible, while setting the highest nonproliferation standard.
We're doing this through the optimal pathway that our heads of state announced last March. The optimal pathway includes embedded personnel and increased SSN port visits to Australia submarine rotational forces to Australia, also known as SURF-West; the sale of U.S. Virginia class submarines to Australia; and finally, the delivery of SSN AUKUS in the early 2040s.
We're moving forward and sticking to the timelines we announced back in March for Australia to get its first SSN AUKUS boat in the early 2040s. And here are some examples of progress that the secretary and his counterparts will review tomorrow.
The United States already conducted an SSN port visit earlier this year to Australia. Another is planned. And the U.K. will increase port visits starting in 2025. Eight Royal Australian Navy officers began training at the U.S. Naval Nuclear Power School, and six have already graduated.
Eight additional Royal Australian Navy sailors recently started their training at the U.S. Naval Nuclear Power School with an expected graduation date in April of 2024.
We're proud that we're already educating the sailors who will be the first to operate Australia's nuclear-powered submarines as part of this historic endeavor.
So, when it comes to AUKUS Pillar I, we are on track to deliver. The second pillar of AUKUS focuses on advanced capability development. And while last year's DMM focused heavily on Pillar I, this DMM will focus primarily on Pillar II. And we have a lot to share.
AUKUS Pillar II is all about delivering advanced capabilities to our war fighters so they can see, understand and act with decisive advantage. Through Pillar II, we're working together to enhance our competitive military edge and strengthen integrated deterrence.
Areas we are working in include artificial intelligence and autonomy, advanced cyber, electronic warfare, hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, quantum technologies and undersea warfare.
Tomorrow the secretary will announce some new Pillar II initiatives. I want to highlight a few, starting with a maritime autonomous experimentation and exercise series. It's a bold new effort aimed at testing, developing and delivering advanced maritime autonomous systems to our war fighters.
This effort will consist of a series of integrated, trilateral activities aiming to enhance capability development and improve interoperability. The experiments and exercises will also provide opportunities for defense industry to participate in capability demonstrations, development and delivery.
And through these experiments and exercises, the AUKUS partners will further test and refine the ability to jointly operate unproved maritime systems and share and process maritime data from all three nations, to provide real-time maritime domain awareness to support decision-making.
These exercises and experiments will demonstrate the tangible impact of AUKUS. We're using AUKUS to rapidly accelerate the sophistication and scale of autonomous systems in the maritime domain.
Through AUKUS Pillar II, we're also building an enabling ecosystem where our three nations can innovate and share information, ideas, and capabilities with unparalleled ease.
Tomorrow, the Secretary and his counterparts will announce several efforts that will facilitate this cooperation moving forward, in addition to the game-changing export control legislation currently under consideration on the Hill.
We will announce an AUKUS Innovation Challenge Series in which companies across all three nations can compete for a prize on a common defense innovation challenge topic. We will be launching the AUKUS innovation challenges in early 2024, with a prize challenge focused on electronic warfare. In the United States, at DIU, who's hosting the Defense Ministerial, is playing a critical role in driving this forward.
We're also establishing an AUKUS Industry Forum with trilateral government and industry representatives to help inform policy, technical and commercial frameworks, to facilitate the development and delivery of advanced capabilities. And the first meeting of that industry forum will occur in the first half of 2024.
The Secretary will also discuss Pillar II progress on the development and delivery of specific advanced capabilities. For example, we are testing and then deploying common artificial intelligence algorithms on multiple systems, including P-8A maritime patrol aircraft. This will allow us to process large amounts of data from all three nations faster, improving our anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
We're also delivering artificial intelligence algorithms that will enhance force protection, precision targeting, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. In April, we successfully conducted an autonomous swarm demonstration in the U.K., and in October, we conducted trials of trusted robotics and autonomous systems in South Australia. Because we're focused on getting capabilities to the warfighter at AUKUS, we're integrating these technologies into national programs starting next year, focused first on the land and maritime domains.
We've also made great progress in the cyber arena. We're collaborating with industry partners to deploy some advanced tooling which will uplift the cybersecurity of our supply chains while also giving us greater insights into threats to AUKUS.
So, we're tangibly delivering advanced capabilities through AUKUS Pillar II, and in doing so, driving forward the vision behind the National Defense Strategy toward a secure and stable Indo-Pacific.
So, to wrap up, just as President Biden stated more than two years ago at the launch of this historic endeavor, our three nations will take on the threats of the 21st century, just as we did in the 20th century, together. We're working hard to make it happen.
Thanks, and I'm looking forward to answering your questions.
MILITARY OFFICIAL: Hey, thanks, sir.
So, as we transition to Q&A, I just want to remind everyone that we do have a press briefing this afternoon to answer more news-of-the-day questions. And we have about 30 minutes remaining, so please limit to one question, one follow-up. And we'll start, Lita.
Q: All right. Can you -- is there any funding estimate on any of the AUKUS effort? Is there an -- can you give us any sort of budgetary figure on how much is being invested in some of this?
And then is there any other details on this -- autonomous maritime trilateral activities that you talked about, the exercises? Can you give us anything more on what exactly you're going to be doing and when that may be?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Absolutely. So, to your first question on funding, we're working hard to generate the resources that we need for AUKUS Pillar II to succeed. We're hopeful that the passage of an NDAA with a full year appropriation will enable some of that funding for F.Y. '24. And we're working on what future funding for some of these Pillar II activities will look like. It's a high priority.
With regard to your question about the autonomous maritime experimentation and exercise series, I would say that it builds on activities that we're, in some ways, we been thinking about over the last couple of years.
You'll note that the U.S. does a lot of work in this context already, and the U.S., Australia, and the U.K., all are developing uncrewed and autonomous systems in the maritime arena, both on the surface, undersea, et cetera.
The AUKUS partners have already done some experimentation with uncrewed surface maritime assets, trying -- with the goal of enabling the sharing of real time information to help us develop more -- a more common operating picture.
So, the AUKUS partners have already been working together on some elements of this and the -- that success really is enabling us to launch this new broader experimentation and exercise series.
Q: So, no budget total for what you expect to be in the next budget?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I do not have a budget total to offer you at this time.
MILITARY OFFICIAL: Lara?
Q: A couple questions. First of all, just a follow-up on what you said about the -- the P-8 and the -- the maritime exercises that you're doing. When do you expect that that capability -- the -- the joint capability to be operational?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: That's a good question. We're already working on transitioning some of the capabilities in the U.S. system that we've been -- that we've been testing. So, the P-8 is an example of the type of platform that we will utilize in the context of that announcement.
Essentially, all three nations have sonobuoys that they use to, that we use to -- to collect data, and our teams have been working together to develop algorithms that all three nations can employ so that we can process data from each other's sonobuoys, and that could dramatically enhance our ability to understand what's going on in the maritime domain and enhance anti-submarine warfare.
And we are already working on the transition of those capabilities as we test them so we can work to roll them out in our P-8s and potentially other platforms as soon as possible.
Q: So, you don't have a specific timeline?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: If we are --
(CROSSTALK)
Q: -- like, the goal?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: We're beginning that transition process right now, and they're being integrated into existing platforms.
Q: So, you can't give a more specific deadline?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I don't have a specific date that I can give you, other than to say that -- because I don't want to give you a -- a specific date that'll be misleading. The -- but I would add that this is not a long-term proposition. we're talking about existing platforms and an add on to, in the in the case of the P-8, the ability to process sonobuoy data not just from U.S. sonobuoys but from Australia to U.K. sonobuoys.
So, this is a short-term capability that we're working to transition in and out of.
Q: Sir, sorry to harp on this point but can you like -- next year? Is there a ballpark?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I don't want to get ahead of the engineers that are going to work on the specific integration of the capabilities that we're discussion.
Q: And sorry, just a separate question. Is there any appetite for letting countries like Japan or South Korea join any of the AUKUS development?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: So, I think the United States and our partners have been clear that we are open to considering additional partners in parts of our Pillar II endeavors when we think -- when we think the time is right but we don't have anything to announce at this point.
MILITARY OFFICIAL: Let’s go to Mike.
Q: This is ambitious. You've got some timeline set up for some exercise. At what point does a lack of ITAR rapport make everything sort of fall on its face or are you positioning every system that you're looking for to be ITAR free in case you don't get cooperation from the Hill?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yes, that's a great point. Or sorry, that's a great question. There's been strong bipartisan support for AUKUS on the Hill. The legislative proposals that the administration submitted including the export control legislation, there is up in the air and being discussed at senior leadership levels.
Tt's a high priority for the secretary, as that that these are incorporated and we're -- and we're hopeful. We think that we need to pass these legislative proposals now and failure to do so by Congress would send the wrong message to allies and partners.
The passage of the export control legislation and implementation would enable us to more freely engage in the defense trade throughout the AUKUS partnership with high security standards by all three countries in a way that we think will facilitate further elaboration.
We think it's absolutely vital for the long-term success of AUKUS. In the case of the specific systems that we've announced today that were talking about experimenting with, we're confident in our ability to work together under existing regulations. We've also been pursuing a number of reforms that all three nations can do without legislation to facilitate -- to facilitate collaboration.
And so we're confident in our ability to deliver on this maritime autonomous experimentation exercise series. That being said, just want to stress again that the passage of this legislation would be game changing as I said above. We think it's absolutely critical to facilitating and accelerating the deep degree of collaboration that the national defense strategy makes clear that we need with our closest allies and partners like Australia and the U.K.
Q: I heard you say that the exercise series is not at risk if the ITAR stuff doesn't pass. Is that right? Exercise series is not at risk if the ITAR rapport doesn't pass?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I think it's correct to say that the exercise series is not at risk if the ITAR form does not pass because we already do exercises with allies and partners including Australia and the U.K. in the status quo. So, we're competent in our ability to do those exercises.
MILITARY OFFICIAL: Let's transition to this side of the room. Tony?
Q: I have a couple questions. Will there be any announcement on Australia's commitment financial commitment to the U.S. industrial base? There's been stories saying that they've committed or plan to commit $3 billion. And then I have a follow-up on a different --
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yes, Australia's offer to make a substantial contribution to the U.S. submarine industrial base in support of AUKUS it's one reason why the administration submitted the legislative proposals specifically designed to enable the acceptance of contributions. Legislation is required to allow the United States to accept payments from Australia for the purpose of improving the U.S. sub industrial base.
Those investments will uplift the U.S. submarine industrial base and provide enduring benefits for AUKUS and U.S. submarine construction and maintenance efforts. I don't have specific details to offer at time on the specific amount of the Australian contribution but I can say that it is substantial.
Q: Okay. The industry challenge you talked about, the EW specific example, is that industry challenge, are those for contracts or just to demonstrate their capabilities for potential future contracts?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: So, what we're announcing is an innovation challenge series. So, we have innovation hubs obviously in the Defense Department with a defense innovation unit being a good example of that. And you have DIU, you have DARPA, research and engineering organization run price challenges from -- from time to time designed to facilitate, collecting the best technologies and ideas from the commercial sector with the goal of leveraging those to enhance U.S. military capabilities.
What we're going to be announcing is essentially a trilateral innovation challenge where each country will release a common innovation prize challenge and it will be eligible to the companies from all three nations. So, it's illustrative of the way that AUKUS is deepening our ability to innovate together and work together.
And the first area that we're focusing on is electronic warfare because we view enhancing our electronic warfare capabilities as critical from the perspective of all of our defense strategies, and it's an area that we've been working together on in AUKUS.
Q: Okay, fair enough. Thanks.
MILITARY OFFICIAL: Let's go in the back to Matthew.
Q: So just to follow up on the ITAR question just briefly, is there something where ITAR, the current existing framework, might impeded some of the ambitions around this? And then secondly, can we get some sort of more color and detail around the autonomous maritime activities? So, for example, are there any -- could you give a sort of an example of the number of vehicles that might be in- -- included in this exercise, or particular companies that might have some of the vehicles included in it? And then just finally on the competition, is there a sort of an indicative dollar value around any stage of that competition? Thank you.
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Apologies. Can you repeat the second question again?
Q: The second is just around some of the color and numbers of the autonomous maritime activities. So, for example, the number of vehicles that might be deployed in it or the amount of staff that might be involved in it, or some of the commercial companies that might be participating or lending their expertise or assets.
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: So, on the first question on ITAR, we view AUKUS as a generational opportunity where success requires novel information and technology sharing with high-security standards. And because AUKUS is a partnership that will last, generations, we don't know today everything that we will work on together in AUKUS, particularly in AUKUS Pillar II.
And one of the purposes of ITAR reform is to set us up for success not just with what we're doing today, but to facilitate that smoother industrial-based collaboration in a way that enables partnerships on capabilities that we haven't even thought about yet. And I think that's a -- a key driver behind, what we view as a key driver behind ITAR reform for us.
Another key driver for ITAR reform is the ability to facilitate the defense trade that we think we need macro to be able to make some of the existing, Pillar II activities, again, succeed over time. There are areas where what we are doing in Pillar II where we are comfortable in our ability to succeed already. I've given two examples of that already: our ability to conduct the experimentation and exercise series and our ability to transition the algorithms that we're developing to process sonobuoy data onto P-8s and other and other U.S. systems. But the deeper we go in capability collaboration and the broader we go in capability collaboration, the more that legislative proposal becomes essential.
The second question you asked about the autonomous experimentation exercise series, we don't have specifics to announce today about the numbers of systems that will be involved. Our systems are now working together to plan the first activity, and we hope to be able to release more information about that soon. There have been some existing exercises that we've described out there that we've done in AUKUS already such as the autonomous swarm demonstration that we did in the U.K. in April, that we've done individually, and that our partners have done. But I think I would say that we're talking about a substantial number of systems that will enable us to actually exercise and experiment together in a way that enhances both capability delivery and interoperability.
MILITARY OFFICIAL: Let’s go to Anton.
Q: Yeah, Anton LaGuardia from The Economist. Can you -- can you say more about the -- I'd just go back to my colleague's question. Can you say anything about the types of vessels, the scenarios that you're going to be experimenting with? Is it more data gathering? Is it systems that would carry weapons? Is it minesweepers? And I -- what does -- what does this exercise actually involve? And then I've got a follow-up.
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: So, the question of the types of vessels that'll be involved in the maritime experiment, or the maritime autonomy experimentation and exercise series, some details of that will remain classified, like some -- like many of our Pillar II activities, but there are a few things that I think I can say now.
The first is, as I mentioned before, we've already been doing some experimentation with uncrewed maritime surface assets to try to develop a more common operating picture and improve maritime domain awareness. And some of those types of systems are for example, some of the types of assets that Task Force 59 has been using in CENTCOM. Think, like smaller collection vehicles.
The second thing that I would say is I think if you look at our pattern of exercises that we already do, sometimes unilaterally, sometimes with allies and partners, and the number of different systems that we often bring to the table as we try to test out what capabilities look like to address the key operational challenges that the National Defense Strategy says that we have to get after, , you can expect that we are going to bring to the table capabilities that will make a difference, since that's what will make these exercise and experimentation series impactful -- it is experimenting with, exercising with the types of maritime platforms that we think will make a difference in really delivering new capabilities to the warfighter.
Q: And -- and just on my follow-up, there are two -- as I understand it, there are two different -- slightly different versions of ITAR reform, the two NDAAs in the House and the Senate. Do you have a preference for one or other?
And if you stand back for a -- for a moment, once all this has passed and you get the reform and you get the money you require, what do the industrial bases of these three partner countries look like in future?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I don't have anything to comment on the specifics of legislation from the House and from the Senate, other than to reiterate what I said before, which is that we're supportive of the legislative proposal that the administration submitted and we're hopeful that all of the LPs that we submitted are passed in a timely manner.
With regard to the second follow-up on the industrial bases, our vision, the vision that our leaders laid out and that the Secretary and his counterparts strongly support, involves our companies being able to work together, much more closely.
There are aspects of this that you can already see bilaterally between the U.S. and Australia and between the U.S. and the U.K., and there are aspects of this that you can see in other types of cooperation that we're doing, other legislation that's been considered.
But we're imagining a world where you have minimized barriers to collaboration between industry that really enables the kind of collaboration that generates difference-making capabilities over time and uplifts all of our industrial bases, increasing the resiliency of supply chains, et cetera.
MILITARY OFFICIAL: Chris?
Q: Thanks [military official] and thank you, sir. Will there be any discussion on cooperation on hypersonics at the upcoming meeting? Where does that part of Pillar II stand?
And then I have a follow-up on something you said previously.
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: As we previously announced, hypersonics and counter-hypersonics represent one of the areas that we're working together on in AUKUS. I don't have any details to offer you at this time on -- on conversations and work on hypersonics related to the defense ministerial.
Q: Okay. And just to follow up on a point, we've talked a lot about legislation as a barrier to working together, but as this building often finds out, sometimes issues pop up where it's difficult to talk between the U.S. military. So, as you do these exercises, how flexible can you be in being able to change your own policies and other nations' policies?
You've said that the DOD is comfortable with where it is, but have you had discussions with -- with the U.K. and Australia on their ability to work through issues that might come up regarding classification, things like that on these advanced technologies?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: That's a good question. Just to clarify, when I said I was comfortable with where we are, I meant specifically in our ability to do some of the specific things that I mentioned before.
As part of AUKUS, at the direction of the Secretary, we've been looking at what we can do inside the department to streamline our own policies and processes to ensure that we're, again, reducing those barriers to collaboration, allowing us to work together at a faster level and at a deeper level throughout the partnership.
And, I would let Australia -- the Australian government and the U.K. government, speak for themselves in this context, but I would just add that we've been really encouraged by the work that our partners are also doing to try to ensure that those barriers are reduced in their systems as well so we can all work together more collaboratively and more seamlessly.
Q: Thank you. With regard to the prize competition, can you say how much funding is going to go towards that? And is that dependent on F.Y. '24 full year appropriations? And when will solicitations go out for industry to participate? Is it going to be a call for white papers? , which DOD component's going to be kind of running that?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: So with regard to the prize competition, we don't have anything we're ready to announce today on the specific dollar amounts involved, other than to say that we think that it will provide important incentives for industry partners from all three countries to contribute ideas to the first challenge focused on electronic warfare.
As I very briefly mentioned in my remarks, DIU, the Defense Innovation Unit, has been spearheading some of our efforts in the United States. And so our plan is for the release of the first prize challenge in early 2024 but I don't have a specific date to offer.
Q: And is it sort of a call for white papers essentially, that through DIU's open solicitation mechanism?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: It'll be a DIU solicitation. I would defer to DIU on the specifics of what that looks like.
Q: Thank you.
MILITARY OFFICIAL: Let's go to Jon.
Q: On that prize challenge, could you give us a better sense of the thinking behind why electronic warfare was the first chosen topic there? And I have a follow-up.
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Sure. I think, for the innovation prize challenge, we were really focused on what are areas that our national defense strategies across all three countries identify as important and where we are working together -- and where we are working together in AUKUS and where we see opportunities for further collaboration.
And electronic warfare clearly fits into all three categories. It's clear that enhancing our capabilities in that arena will be essential on the 21st century battlefield. It's an area that we previously announced that we were collaborating in already, under AUKUS. And so electronic warfare, therefore, after our teams collaborated, seemed very appropriate as the first area for an innovation challenge.
Q: And you said this would be a series. Do you have an expectation of how often this will occur, and then what future topics could be?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: We don't have any details to announce at this time about when a subsequent challenge might be announced or on future topics. But I think that future topics are likely to hit some of the same criteria that I just laid out in that capability areas that we're working on in AUKUS and which are central to all of our national defense strategies.
MILITARY OFFICIAL: Fadi, you get the last question.
Q: Thank you. Could I ask question for [the Senior Advisor]?
(Laughter.)
Appreciate that.
Q: We talked in Angola. Appreciate your briefing. The theme, again, the U.S. leadership in defending the rules-based order, I was wondering if, after this war in Gaza, that it's -- , it hasn't ended, the number of civilian casualties that is unprecedented in this century, the reaction in the global south and countries outside, maybe, U.S. and -- and NATO nations to the way U.S. supported Israel, to the way Israel conducted this war.
Has there been any rethinking of the meaning of the rules-based order and how you make the case?
I mean, who is the intended audience in this speech? Is it the world? And what is the case you are making to show that the U.S. leadership is actually defending this -- this order and not actually using it to say, "Well, defend it when it comes our allies, and then we change our stances when it comes to other nations?"
And people are making a lot of comparison between what happened in Ukraine and the way the U.S. supported Ukrainians and criticized Russia and what happened in Gaza and the way the U.S. supported Israel.
SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE SECRETARY: I'm going to do the responsible thing and let this speech speak for itself. I think you'll find some interesting insights from the secretary in the speech. And I think it's probably best not to get in front of it.
I do think that the administration remains deeply committed to the principles of American leadership that have underpinned a rules-based international order that has kept the whole -- that has given the whole planet better senses of ways to -- to conduct international relations and keep civilians safe. And I think -- I think I'll let the speech and let the boss do the talking.
Q: Thank you.
MILITARY OFFICIAL: So, thanks for your time, everyone. We will work to get you all an embargoed copy of that speech as [the Senior Military Official] mentioned at the top, additionally, there is a trilateral announcement associated with AUKUS Pillar II, with even more examples, vignettes and progress updates. So, we will work to get you all a copy of that as well. Thanks for your time. I'm looking forward to the next one.
Q: What time is the press briefing tomorrow?
MILITARY OFFICIAL: That will be tomorrow at 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 7 p.m. Eastern.
Q: And for attribution with a Senior Defense Official, or --
MILITARY OFFICIAL: Senior Defense Official.
[CROSSTALK]
Q: Sir, can we get an early version of the announcements?
MILITARY OFFICIAL: We'll work to see what we can provide.
Q: Can we use them on the record once the embargo's lifted? I mean, there's going to be a transcript of this meeting.
MILITARY OFFICIAL: We're on background today.
(CROSSTALK)
Q: -- even afterwards?
MILITARY OFFICIAL: Yes, as a Senior Defense Official.
(Laughter.)