LONDON — The Ministry of Defence plans to develop autonomous vessels that operate AI technology alongside warships and aircraft to better protect Britain’s undersea cables and pipelines from Moscow. Under the Atlantic Bastion program, surface and underwater vessels, ships, submarines, and aircraft would be connected through AI-powered acoustic detection technology and integrated into a “digital targeting web,” a network of weapons systems, allowing faster decisions to be made. The government explained that the program was in response to a resurgence of Russian submarine and underwater activity in British waters. British intelligence says Russian President Vladimir Putin was modernizing his fleet to target critical undersea cables and pipelines. Last month, the Russian spy ship Yantar directed lasers at British forces deployed to monitor the vessel for the first time after it entered U.K. waters. Yantar was previously in U.K. territorial seas in January. Defence Secretary John Healey said Yantar was “designed for gathering intelligence and mapping our undersea cables.” The Ministry of Defence says Atlantic Bastion will create a hybrid naval force that can find, track, and, if required, act against adversaries. A combined £14 million has been invested by the Ministry of Defence and industry, with 26 U.K. and European firms submitting proposals to develop anti-submarine sensor technology. Any capabilities would be deployed underwater from 2026. “People should be in no doubt of the new threats facing the U.K., and our allies under the sea, where adversaries are targeting infrastructure that is so critical to our way of life,” said Defence Secretary John Healey. “Our pioneering Atlantic Bastion program is a blueprint for the future of the Royal Navy. It combines the latest autonomous and AI technologies with world-class warships and aircraft to create a highly advanced hybrid fighting force to detect, deter and defeat those who threaten us.” Britain’s Chief of the Naval Staff, Gwyn Jenkins, was expected to say at the International Sea Power Conference on Monday: “We are a Navy that thrives when it is allowed to adapt. To evolve. We have never stood still — because the threats never do.” The first sea lord general added: A revolutionary underwater network is taking shape — from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to the Norwegian Sea. More autonomous, more resilient, more lethal — and British built.”

PARIS — The French navy opened fire at drones that were detected over a highly-sensitive military site harboring French nuclear submarines, according to newswire Agence France-Presse. Five drones were detected Thursday night over the submarine base of Île Longue, in Brittany, western France, a strategic military site home to ballistic missile submarines, the AFP reported, citing the the French gendarmerie, which is part of the military. The submarines harbored at the base carry nuclear weapons and are a key part of France’s nuclear deterrent. French navy troops in charge of protecting the base opened fire, the report said. It was unclear whether the drones were shot down. Drones had already been spotted in the area last month, albeit not directly above the base, per reports in French media. The site had been buzzed by drones long before the invasion of Ukraine. The incident follows a string of recent drone incursions in NATO airspace, with unmanned aircrafts seen buzzing around sensitive military sites and civil infrastructures in recent months across Europe, including in Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Norway. In Poland, fighter jets were scrambled in September to shoot down drones of Russian origin, an incident widely seen as an escalation of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hybrid war on Europe. French authorities haven’t yet commented on the suspected origin of the drone incident Thursday at the well-known military site.

LONDON — In the corridors of Whitehall, armies of officials are working out how best to spend billions of pounds earmarked for defense equipment. However, they have yet to inform the people it concerns the most: Britain’s arms industry. Many in the sector now fear that they’ve wasted their own money developing cutting-edge gear, as the government drags its feet on awarding contracts. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has made a lot of noise on defense since entering government last year, plundering the aid budget to get defense spending to reach 2.6 percent of GDP by 2027 and a promise of 3.5 percent by 2035.  Alongside the funding boost, Starmer asked George Robertson, a Labour Party politician who is a former NATO secretary-general, to lead a major inquiry into how the U.K. would meet geopolitical threats, known as the Strategic Defence Review (SDR). The SDR was well received across the defense industry and viewed as a statement of intent from the government to devote effort and resources to building up the sector, with an emphasis on resilience and innovation.  Those good intentions were supposed to be followed by a series of complementary announcements — including a defense industrial strategy, the appointment of a new national armaments director, and a defense investment plan.  The industrial strategy and armaments director both arrived late, while the defense investment plan is still missing in action. It is now expected after this week’s fall budget.  Six months since the SDR, many in the industry complain that they haven’t received the certainty they need about where the British government — in many cases, their sole buyer —plans to invest.  Business owners say this is limiting their ability to make long-term plans and risks skilled workers departing for other jobs.  One representative of a mid-sized arms manufacturer — granted anonymity like others in this piece in order not to damage commercial prospects — said the problem was that the “big, bold” prescription of the SDR has given way to “repeated deferral, which always happens with delivery plans of this complexity.” INNOVATING IN THE DARK The war in Ukraine has radically reshaped other countries’ understanding of what’s needed on the battlefield, and the SDR set out a clear expectation that innovation would be rewarded. At September’s DSEI — an industry jamboree held in London — it was plain to see that private companies had stepped up to deliver prototypes for novel weaponry and other equipment, from modular robots that can deliver materiel to a battlefield and can also serve as stretchers, to AI that can read and predict threats on the ground in real time.  Defence Minister Luke Pollard said:  “We need to move to war-fighting readiness, and the SDR gave industry a very clear direction of how an increasing defense budget will be spent on new technologies and looking after our people better.” | John Keeble/Getty Images Much of that research and development was done by companies drawing on their own budgets or taking out loans as they wait for news of any specific government contracts.  For small suppliers in particular, the lag could prove existential.  One small manufacturer based in England said: “We are ready to go; we have built factories that could start making equipment tomorrow. But we can’t until an order is placed.” Armored vehicle maker Supacat has said that while its business is stable, suppliers will suffer without a predictable path ahead. “This is about the wider industry and our partners in the supply chain that have been contributing,” Toby Cox, the company’s head of sales, told POLITICO. “Our assumption is we don’t get more [orders], some of these companies will have a downturn in their orders.” KEEPING PRODUCTION LINES WARM Andrew Kinniburgh, defense director general of manufacturers association Make UK, echoed those concerns. While the industry “warmly welcomed” the Defence Ministry’s commitment to boost SME spending, he said, “the MOD must give companies certainty of long-term demand signals and purchase orders, allowing businesses to make the private investments needed in people, capital, and infrastructure.” Mike Armstrong, U.K. managing director of German defense firm Stark, which has recently opened a plant in Britain, added: “Giving the industry a clear view of future requirements is the fastest way to ensure the U.K. and its allies stay ahead.” Even some bigger companies that deal with the government on components for aircraft and submarines have privately complained about putting money into research and development without knowing what the end result will be.  An engineer working at one of Britain’s largest defense firms said: “We have multi-use items that could be for both military and civilian purposes, but cannot invest until we know what government strategy is. If it’s bad for us, it must be so hard for SMEs.” Mike Armstrong, U.K. managing director of German defense firm Stark, added: “Giving the industry a clear view of future requirements is the fastest way to ensure the U.K. and its allies stay ahead.” | Andrew Matthews/Getty Images The issue is not only one of investment, but also of skills. Supacat’s Cox said that keeping production lines warm matters because the workforce behind complex fabrications is fragile. “The U.K. has a skill shortage, particularly around engineering fabrication. If we’ve got an employee in that sector, we absolutely don’t want to lose them in another sector,” he said.  NOT LONG TO GO The Ministry of Defence said it appreciates the need for clarity. Defence Minister Luke Pollard, speaking to POLITICO at DSEI, said:  “We need to move to war-fighting readiness, and the SDR gave industry a very clear direction of how an increasing defense budget will be spent on new technologies and looking after our people better.” He argued there was “a neat synergy” between the “duty of government to keep the country safe and the first mission of this Labour government to grow the economy.” An MOD spokesperson said the defense investment plan would “offer clear, long-term capability requirements that enable industry to plan and unlocking private investment.” They pointed out that £250 million had already been allocated for “defense growth deals” alongside a £182 million skills package, and that the MOD had placed £31.7 billion in orders with U.K. industry in the last financial year. A government official rejected claims that ministers were moving too slowly, pointing to Defence Secretary John Healey’s recent announcement on new munitions factories as exactly the kind of demand signal that industry is looking for.  The director of a large U.K. defense producer said the signs from the government were “encouraging,” specifying that Chancellor Rachel Reeves, having agreed to more money for defense, “wants to see a return on investment.” While most of the country will be braced for Reeves’s big moment on Wednesday when she announces the national budget, one sector will have to hold its breath a little longer. Luke McGee contributed to this report.

LONDON — Criminal networks are “weaponizing children” to commit torture and murder by recruiting them through multiplayer video games and smartphones — and parents often have no idea what’s happening, the boss of Europe’s law enforcement agency warns.  These groups now pose the greatest single criminal threat to the European Union because they destabilize society by targeting children and destroying families, said Catherine De Bolle, executive director of Europol.  “The weaponization of children for organized crime groups is what is going on at the moment on European soil,” she said in a joint interview with POLITICO and Welt. “They weaponize the children to torture or to kill. It’s not about petty theft anymore. It’s about big crimes.”  The “worst case” Europol has seen was of a young boy who was ordered “to kill his younger sister, which happened,” she said. “It’s cruel, we have never seen this before.”  She even suggested that children and young people are being used by hostile states and hybrid threat perpetrators as unwitting spies to eavesdrop on government buildings.  The Europol chief is in a unique position to describe the criminal landscape threatening European security, as head of the EU agency responsible for intelligence coordination and supporting national police. In a wide-ranging discussion, De Bolle also cautioned that the growth of artificial intelligence is having a dramatic impact, multiplying online crime, described how drug smugglers are now using submarines to ship cocaine from South America to Europe, and described an increasing threat to European society from Russia’s hybrid war.  De Bolle’s comments come amid an ongoing debate about how to police the internet and social media to prevent young and vulnerable people from coming to harm. The greatest threat facing the EU from organized crime right now comes from groups that have “industrialized” the recruitment of children, she said: “Because [they are] the future of the European Union. If you lose them, you lose everything.” FROM GAMING TO GROOMING Criminals often begin the process of grooming children by joining their multiplayer video games, which have a chat function, and gaining their trust by discussing seemingly harmless topics like pets and family life.  Then, they will switch to a closed chat where they will move on to discussing more sinister matters, and persuade the child to share personal details like their address. At that point, the criminals can bribe or blackmail the child into committing violence, including torture, self-harm, murder and even suicide.  Europol is aware of 105 instances in which minors were involved in violent crimes “performed as a service” — including 10 contract killings. Many attempted murders fail because children are inexperienced, the agency said. “We also have children who do not execute the order and then, for instance, [the criminals] kill the pet of the child, so that the child knows very well, ‘We know where you live, we know who you are, you will obey, and if you don’t, we will go even further to kill your mother or your father,’” De Bolle warned.  Criminals will also offer children money to commit a crime — as much as $20,000 for a killing, sometimes they pay and sometimes they don’t. While these networks often target children who are vulnerable because they have psychological problems or are bullied at school, healthy and happy children are also at risk, De Bolle said. “It’s also about others, youngsters who are not vulnerable but just want new shoes — shoes that are very expensive.”  Sometimes young people are even recruited for hybrid war by state actors, she said. “You also have it with hybrid threat actors that are looking for the crime as a service model — the young perpetrators to listen to the foreign state, to listen to the communication around buildings.” Once police catch a child, the criminals abandon them and move to groom a new child to turn into a remote-operated weapon.  “Parents blame themselves in a lot of cases. They do not understand how it is possible,” she said. “The problem is you don’t have access to everything your child does and you respect also the privacy of your children. But as a parent, you need to talk about the dangers of the internet.” DRUGS AND AI ARE ALSO A PROBLEM Among the new criminal methods crossing Europol’s desks, two stand out: The use of so-called narco-submarines to smuggle drugs like cocaine from South America into the EU and the growth in AI technology fueling an explosion in online fraud that enforcement agencies are virtually powerless to stop.  Instead of shipping cocaine into the ports of Hamburg, Rotterdam and Antwerp through containers, criminals have diversified their methods, De Bolle said. One key route is to sail semi-submersible vessels from South America to Europe’s North Atlantic coast, where speedboats meet them and offload the illegal cargo via Portugal, according to Europol’s information.  While Europe now is “overflooded with drugs,” criminal organizations may make more money, more easily through online fraud, she said. “Artificial intelligence is a multiplier for crime,” she said. “Everything is done a thousand times more and faster. The abuse of artificial intelligence lies in phishing emails — you do not recognize it very easily with phishing emails anymore because the language is correct.”  She said “romance fraud” is also “booming,” as “people look for love, also online.” “With deepfakes and with voice automation systems, it’s very difficult for a law enforcement authority to recognise that from a genuine picture. The technology is not there yet to [tell] the difference,” De Bolle added.  De Bolle said Europol needed to be able to access encrypted phone messages with a judge’s authorization to disrupt these criminal networks. “When a judge decides that we need to have access to data, the online providers should be forced to give us access to this encrypted communication,” she said. Otherwise, “we will be blind and then we cannot do our job.”

President Donald Trump on Monday insisted the U.S. is going “full steam ahead” on a major nuclear-powered submarine pact, ending months of uncertainty over whether his administration would keep the alliance with Australia and the U.K. The Pentagon announced this summer that it was reviewing the deal, known as AUKUS, fueling angst in Canberra and London that the Trump administration might walk away from a rare agreement to expand production of nuclear submarines and partner on tech to ward off China. But Trump gave his support Monday at a White House meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, where leaders sought to reset the tone of the relationship after weeks of speculation about the pact’s future. “We’re just going now full steam ahead,” Trump said when asked about the deal. “They’re building magnificent holding pads for the submarines. It’s going to be expensive. You wouldn’t believe the level of complexity and how expensive it is.” Canberra has committed billions to develop submarine and naval shipbuilding facilities in western Australia, designed to host and maintain U.S. and U.K. nuclear-powered submarines while revving up construction of new ones. The new infrastructure would turn Australia into a hub for allies and their submarines in the region, all aimed as a bulwark against China. Navy Secretary John Phelan, at the meeting, said the plan is to “take the original AUKUS framework and improve it for all three parties, and make it better, clarify some of what was in the prior agreement.” Trump, who is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coming weeks, said he views AUKUS as a deterrent against Beijing but not a step toward a confrontation. And he dismissed the idea of a conflict over Taiwan. “We’ll be just fine with China,” he said. “First of all, the United States is the strongest military power in the world by far.” Trump and Albanese also signed a deal for critical minerals and rare-earth elements, formalizing joint investments between the two countries to strengthen non-Chinese supply chains for materials crucial for defense and high-tech manufacturing. Officials negotiated it over the last few months, Trump said. Albanese described it as an AUD $8.5 billion pipeline, with joint contributions over the next six months. “Australia has had a view for some time — it’s similar to putting America first,” he said. “Our plan is called ‘A Future Made in Australia,’ which is about not just digging things up and exporting them, but making sure we have supply chains where our friends can benefit.” The mineral push comes amid increasing trade tensions between the U.S. and Beijing, which has tightened export controls on rare-earth elements and permanent magnets. Both are vital for defense and high-tech products. Trump reiterated his threat to levy hefty tariffs on China if it does not relent on the new trade restrictions. “They threatened us with rare earths, and I threatened them with tariffs,” he said. “We could stop the airplane parts, too. We build their airplanes.”

BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that their countries would enhance collaboration on defense and critical minerals. “We are deepening our bilateral cooperation, and we are doing so with great gratitude and deep conviction,” Merz said during a joint press conference with Carney in Berlin. “Canada and Germany have a great deal in common.” The further cooperation comes as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs hit both countries hard, while they also aim to shift their industries away from reliance on Russia and China. The countries’ economy ministers, looking toward that purpose, were set to sign an agreement on critical minerals, which was seen by POLITICO. The accord will focus on the development of lithium, rare earth elements, copper tungsten, gallium, germanium and nickel to counter China’s monopolistic control of materials needed to power everything from military equipment and electric vehicles to quantum computing. “One of the big vulnerabilities that’s been exposed by the Ukraine war, it was exposed by Covid, it’s been exposed by the changing global trade dynamics, [is] our vulnerabilities in supply chains including in critical metals and minerals,” said Carney. “Canada can play a role in accelerating that diversification for Germany and for Europe.” Just like Brussels, Berlin is keen to slash its dependence on China for the so-called critical minerals needed to power the bloc’s green, digital and defense ambitions. Ottawa is an attractive partner to achieve that — Canada has some 200 mines extracting a variety of minerals and metals, many of which are classified as critical raw materials. A number of Canadian Cabinet members, including Defense Minister David McGuinty, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and Energy Minister Tim Hodgson traveled alongside Carney to Berlin. Carney announced he would visit Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems in the northern German city of Kiel later Tuesday, alongside Joly and McGuinty, while Hodgson was set to deliver a major speech to CEOs from the energy, manufacturing and defense industries. “We’re in the process of renewing our submarine fleet,” Carney said, adding that Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems was one of the two finalists to take on the project. Carney and Merz also said they discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, but did not provide concrete details. Camille Gijs contributed to this report from Brussels.

Finland filed criminal charges Monday against the captain and crew of the suspected shadow fleet ship Eagle S, which is accused of attacking and damaging five telecom cables in the Gulf of Finland. The charges, brought against the captain and two mates of the oil tanker — which Finnish authorities believe is part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet — include aggravated criminal mischief and interference with communications, plus other indictments. The trio have been barred from leaving Finland since the investigation began. Finnish prosecutors said that the defendants deny the charges, claiming Helsinki lacks jurisdiction because the damaged cables lie outside its territorial waters. The charges are the latest development in Finland’s investigation, which also led to the seizure of the Eagle S, prime suspect in the December 2024 incident that damaged four submarine cables and disrupted another in the Gulf of Finland. The sabotage triggered calls for more robust action against Moscow’s shadow fleet, an armada of aging, often uninsured tankers that sanctioned nations like Russia rely on to bypass international penalties. NATO has also mobilized forces to protect the seabed and critical communications infrastructure amid a pattern of similar incidents in the Baltic Sea, including the severing of an internet cable between Finland and Germany in November 2024, and another between Finland and Sweden in December 2024. POLITICO has contacted the prosecutor’s office for comment.

How’s your golf swing, prime minister? Keir Starmer heads into a meeting with Donald Trump Monday with his team straining to manage expectations about what’s likely to be achieved. Trump’s trip to his Turnberry and Aberdeen golf resorts is being billed as a chance for the U.S. president to focus less on world affairs and more on his personal empire. But No. 10 Downing Street does at least spy a chance for some real relationship-building, and Starmer will be under pressure to raise plenty of hot-button topics when the two sit down. The U.K. prime minister’s priorities will include keeping the U.S. president’s newfound support for Ukraine going, keeping pressure on the U.S. to reduce outstanding tariffs on the U.K., and shoring up Trump’s commitment to NATO and the AUKUS submarine deal. The deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza will also be high on the agenda as international pressure on Israel mounts. The U.K. side finds it hard to predict Trump’s next move at the best of moments — and this time he’s on a golfing holiday. A U.K. government adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the trip as more of a “staging post” ahead of talks on tariffs at other ministerial levels and Trump’s Sept. 17-19 full state visit to the U.K. Nevertheless, here’s what the strait-laced Starmer will be hoping for out his time with the mercurial U.S. leader. 1) FACE TIME TO WORK THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP Starmer — whom colleagues describe as buttoned-up at work but personable in private — has worked hard with aides on showing his more relaxed side around Trump. POLITICO reported in March that Starmer had WhatsApped the president. (No. 10 declines to confirm the existence of such messages, giving only carefully agreed readouts of formal calls.) Starmer broke his usual character to indulge in theatrics during his visit to the White House in February — whisking out a letter from King Charles inviting Trump to pay a state visit. Starmer has also taken informal, spontaneous calls from the president — including when Trump’s special envoy to the U.K., Mark Burnett, handed him the phone midway through a meal with Starmer and his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney at Downing Street. On another occasion, Starmer took a call from Trump midway through watching a football match. But such spontaneity tends to be on the president’s terms, not Starmer’s. The golfing visit is “an opportunity for the PM to build personal rapport with Trump,” said one U.K. government adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity. “They have a good relationship but this is where Starmer will need to shine in an informal setting. He’s good with the formalities around him.” 2) PROGRESS ON THE U.K.-U.S. TRADE DEAL While all eyes are on the big-ticket U.S.-EU trade deal struck Sunday night, Britain’s “historic” Economic Prosperity Deal with Trump still has plenty of kinks left to iron out, months after it was struck. The U.K. prime minister’s priorities will include keeping the U.S. president’s newfound support for Ukraine going. | Pool Photo by Andy Rain via EPA If London had its way, Britain would see steel duties lifted and a reduction to the blanket 10 percent tariff slapped on most U.K. goods — but that’s a big ask. The prospect of getting more trade wins out of Donald Trump is decidedly mixed with no resolution yet in sight, multiple government figures said. There’s now a growing acceptance in government that getting steel tariffs down from 25 percent to zero is at least “challenging” — and at worst very difficult. Despite good will on both sides, there are still lots of complicated bits to untangle before the deal can be struck, including how to navigate U.S. “melt and pour rules” that require steel imported to the U.S. to be manufactured in its country of origin. But it’s not all doom and gloom, as hopes grow that Britain could avoid tariffs on pharmaceutical products — which Trump had threatened to impose as soon as the start of August. A U.K. government figure said a deal on pharmaceuticals was “much more likely” than immediate progress on steel or the blanket 10 percent reciprocal tariffs. If it comes off it would be a good-news story for the government and the industry, which contributes significantly to U.K. GDP. 3) THE CHANCE TO KEEP THE PRESIDENT’S MIND ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS The meeting will also be a chance for Starmer to attempt to pull Trump’s focus back to two long-running crises where the U.S. can play a critical role: Ukraine and Gaza. Kyiv’s allies were heartened when Trump agreed a plan with NATO’s Mark Rutte at the White House to send more weapons to Ukraine funded by Europeans. However, the president’s boldest promise on this front — a pledge that “we will send them Patriots [missiles], which they desperately need” — appears to be stalled. The German government is particularly frustrated that Trump has so far refused to send any of his more than 60 Patriots over, and Berlin’s lobbying has fallen on deaf ears up to this point. A Western official said “it’s all still very much being worked out” but that the U.K. is part of the effort to turn the White House’s commitment into action. No.10 said Sunday night that Starmer — who is under intense pressure at home on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza — will raise with Trump “what more can be done to secure the ceasefire urgently, bring an end to the unspeakable suffering and starvation in Gaza and free the hostages who have been held so cruelly for so long.” London has been trying to coordinate with Paris and Berlin on its response to the famine-like conditions now facing the people of Gaza, aiming to pile pressure on Israel to allow access to water and food for the civilian population there. But, despite mounting calls in his own party to act, Starmer has not followed French President Emmanuel Macron’s vow to recognize the Palestinian state. Trump’s brusque reaction to Macron’s move this weekend shows just how delicate the balancing act is that Starmer will need to perform. The Starmer-Trump meeting meanwhile comes just days after the U.K. defense and foreign secretaries hot-footed it to Australia to demonstrate their steadfast commitment to the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines deal, a trilateral initiative with the U.S. aimed at providing a bulwark against China. Starmer’s government, like the administration in Canberra, is keen to show willing on the pact after Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, a past critic of AUKUS, launched a surprise review of the treaty back in the spring. Warm words on the defense set-up, like the ones Starmer gleaned from Trump at the G7 in June, would be a win.

LONDON — As demonstrations of friendship go, it doesn’t get much more heavyweight than this. The HMS Prince of Wales — a Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier weighing 65,000 tonnes — docked in Darwin, Australia this week ahead of a meeting between the foreign and defense ministers of Britain and Australia. This display of military pomp has a clear purpose, as Britain and Australia seek to demonstrate their wholehearted commitment to the AUKUS program, a trilateral initiative with the U.S. aimed at warding off China’s growing influence. Under a multibillion-dollar deal agreed between the three countries in 2021, they will jointly develop nuclear-powered submarines and produce transformative new weapons. But the partnership suffered a jolt when Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, who has been critical of AUKUS in the past, launched a surprise review of the entire treaty this spring. While the summit between British and Australian ministers is an annual occurrence, there is little doubt it is being used to reassure the U.S. at a particularly sensitive time. An Australian diplomat, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said that “how to handle [the implications of the Colby review] will definitely be discussed.” AMERICA FIRST The initiation of a U.S. review at first sparked fears for the future of AUKUS, since Colby has expressed skepticism about the program’s worth.  However, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at a press appearance with Donald Trump at the recent G7 in Canada that “we’re proceeding with” AUKUS — with the U.S. president in agreement. Adam Kozloski, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Atlantic Council think tank, said that while reports of the partnership’s demise had been exaggerated, there was nonetheless a clear shift in priorities for Washington.  “Every initiative that the Trump administration inherited is being looked at in terms of making sure it fits the ‘America first’ approach which they advocate,” he said. Since taking office, Trump has turned America’s gaze firmly away from Europe towards the Indo-Pacific, and he now wants to know what meaningful difference his AUKUS partners can make in that effort. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at a press appearance with Donald Trump at the recent G7 in Canada that “we’re proceeding with” AUKUS — with the U.S. president in agreement. | Pool Photo by Jaimi Joy via EPA The long trip by U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey and Foreign Secretary David Lammy therefore seems at least partly designed to underscore their willingness to step up, and comes directly before an expected meeting between Trump and Starmer. In remarks released ahead of the visit, Healey said: “AUKUS is one of Britain’s most important defense partnerships, strengthening global security while driving growth at home.” ON MANEUVERS The two countries will sign a new bilateral treaty underpinning their respective submarine programs, while the British Army’s Carrier Strike Group will take part in the largest military exercise Australia has ever hosted, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense. The U.K. and Australia will also seek to demonstrate progress on “Pillar II” of AUKUS, which commits the allies to collaboration on advanced capabilities such as long-range hypersonic missiles, undersea robotics and AI. Sophia Gaston, senior research fellow at King’s College London, said Britain and Australia were “working closely together on demonstrating how AUKUS delivers tangible value” which “means moving at a faster and more ambitious pace on delivery, particularly on Pillar II.” The only catch is that this element of the deal appears to be one that Colby is less bothered about. The review, which is ongoing, is focused on the plan for the U.S. to sell three nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines to Australia in the 2030s before their own AUKUS subs arrive in the 2040s. Colby is mostly concerned about how Australia will actually use those submarines — which will be taken out of the U.S. fleet — and how they will support U.S. interests, particularly with regard to the defense of Taiwan in case of a Chinese invasion, according to one person briefed on the review who requested anonymity to discuss the matter. Colby is less concerned over some of the joint technological development programs that make up Pillar II of the agreement, the same person said.  Despite the elaborate display of military prowess by the U.K., London will be hard-pressed to convince Washington that it is capable of deploying the type of hard power which the U.S. is really seeking in the region.  In remarks released ahead of the visit, John Healey said: “AUKUS is one of Britain’s most important defense partnerships, strengthening global security while driving growth at home.” | Andy Rain/EPA “How likely is it that these forces are going to be in the region and capable of assisting if something were actually to go down with Taiwan or the South China Sea?” asked Kozloski, who pointed out that it had taken months of planning to get U.K. forces to Australian shores. On the Australian side, the U.S. has reportedly asked Canberra to set out how they would react if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan — prompting Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy to state that they would not commit troops in advance. Against this backdrop, the epic journey made by HMS Prince of Wales begins to look like the easy bit. Luke McGee contributed to this report.

PARIS — Russia likely wants to militarize space, while its undersea activity is also “extremely worrying,” a top French general said during a rare press conference Friday. Describing the Kremlin as “a lasting threat,” Chief of the Defense Staff Thierry Burkhard said Russian submarines “regularly enter the North Atlantic and then sometimes descend into the Mediterranean” in order to “monitor areas which are important [to France].” Burkhard also said Moscow’s satellites are being used to spy on or interfere with French equipment. He also pointed to “signs of a desire to militarize space” with specialized satellites “which would likely not be legal under the laws relating to the non-militarization of space.” During the first press conference held by the French chief of the defense staff since 2021, Burkhard aimed to outline the threats currently facing France ahead of a speech Sunday on defense by President Emmanuel Macron, which is expected to include major announcements. Beyond Russia, Burkhard also highlighted how tensions in other parts of the world — including the Middle East — are adding to an already demanding situation for French troops. He stressed that “unbridled use of force” and “getting used to violence” had become defining elements of the global landscape. While avoiding a direct call for increased military spending, Burkhard said that finding the best way to confront these challenges “probably comes at a cost.” France is looking to increase its military budget to €67.4 billion by 2030, from €50.5 billion for this year.