Robotics trials enhance Australia’s defense capabilities under AUKUS partnership

Tom Abke

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) continues to enhance its capabilities in autonomous technologies with the deployment of the ground uncrewed system (GUS), a domestically developed surveillance robot.

Soldiers from the Pilbara Regiment, part of the Regional Force Surveillance Group (RFSG), are testing GUS for border security across vast and remote areas. The initiative aligns with Australia’s broader defense objectives under Pillar II of the AUKUS partnership with the United Kingdom and the United States, which emphasizes development of uncrewed systems, artificial intelligence and other technologies.

GUS is equipped with sensors and cameras for continuous monitoring exceeding 30 days, according to Australia’s Defence Department, known as Defence. The robot’s batteries are recharged by an on-board liquid fuel generator to extend endurance.

“Placing this equipment in the hands of the end users such as RFSG allows us to learn by doing with all the challenges of tasks and the environment,” Australian Army Brig. Gen. James Davis, director-general of Future Land Warfare, said in a news release.

GUS autonomously detects and tracks objects, transmitting real-time data to a remote operator. That expands surveillance range and minimizes personnel deployments in austere or dangerous settings. The Australian Army is partnering with local company Outlook Industries to develop GUS, providing an economic boost to Gippsland in southeast Australia, where the robot is manufactured using local materials. “Working with sovereign industry unlocks novel ideas and strengthens Australia’s industrial base,” Davis said.

During the multinational exercise Talisman Sabre in mid-2023, Australian Army Soldiers from the 13th Engineer Regiment tested GUS at Royal Australian Air Force Base Curtin in Western Australia, evaluating the system’s performance in various operational scenarios, according to online magazine Defence Connect.

Deploying GUS alongside conventional weapons systems and vehicles during the biennial exercise demonstrated to international partners how uncrewed platforms can be integrated into broader defense strategies. Such technologies also can bolster noncombat missions such as disaster relief.

Australia allocated more than $130 million in its 2024 defense budget to accelerate the development and deployment of robotic and autonomous systems. The investment will enable Defence to expedite testing and fielding asymmetrical technologies, enhancing their operational readiness ahead of schedule.

Canberra considers such systems “key emerging technologies that may enable the ADF to achieve an advantage in future conflict,” Australian Army Maj. Nicholas Barber wrote in mid-2024 in The Cove, an Australian Army publication.

Alongside GUS, Australia is developing uncrewed platforms such as the Ghost Shark, which will provide long-range, autonomous undersea capabilities including surveillance and reconnaissance, and the Ghost Bat combat aircraft, which will support crewed air assets.

Officials say the systems represent Australia’s commitment to integrating autonomous technologies across land, sea and air domains, enhancing its ability to protect its national interests in the Indo-Pacific.

“Ghost Shark is an exemplar of how Defence and Australian industry can move at speed to develop new sovereign capabilities to respond to the challenges before us,” Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said in an April 2024 news release.

Tom Abke is a FORUM correspondent reporting from Singapore.