AUKUS Trilateral Advanced Capabilities Forum bring industry together for first time
- Forum – with the support of ADS, Make UK Defence, the Society of Maritime Industries (SMI) and techUK - will bring trilateral industry together for the first time
- First Forum took place in the US with a substantial UK delegation
ADS, Make UK Defence, SMI, and techUK are delighted to announce the establishment of an “AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum” that will see the participation of 12 Trade Associations representing the Australian, US and UK industry in the aerospace, defence, security, maritime and tech sectors alongside senior government officials from the three allied partners.
The establishment of the “AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum” will enable the three countries to deliver on the initial promises of Pillar II and its eight advanced capabilities. The Forum is the key interface between AUKUS governments and industrial bases, via our trade associations. It will focus on trilateral requirements, capability planning, development, and delivery of AUKUS Advanced Capabilities. The Industry Forum provides an opportunity for government and industry representatives to come together to exchange ideas and deepen industrial collaboration on advanced capabilities.
The first AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum took place in Washington D.C..
Joint Statement from the UK’s ADS, Make UK Defence, SMI and techUK
With the return of systemic competition with aggressive actors, UK strategic advantage will increasingly rely on a collective capacity to lay the foundations for an effective implementation of AUKUS Pillar I and Pillar II. The ability to do so will depend on our collective commitment to promote a culture of industrial cooperation, underwriting AUKUS initiatives.
The Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum represents a unique and first of its kind opportunity to strengthen industry-government trilateral cooperation. Such cooperation is essential to making the AUKUS partnership a whole-of-nation endeavour for each respective party, with industrial synergies propelling innovation in the development of advanced capabilities.
The inaugural meeting took place yesterday, focused on the foundations to ensure an enduring endeavour. Updates were provided on the key legislative and regulatory reforms (ITAR), the recently published EW Innovation Challenge and future activity. Our next Forum will be in the margins of Farnborough International Airshow to further progress key areas of co-operation.
On behalf of UK industry, we firmly believe that the Forum’s role in bringing our trilateral defence industries together is the clearest guarantee to unleashing the true potential of AUKUS Pillar II.
Matthew Evans
Matthew Evans
Matthew Evans leads techUK’s Market Programme teams and is a member of the senior leadership team.
The Market Programme teams help techUK members apply innovative technology solutions across a range of sectors, including the Public Sector, Telecoms, Climate, Financial Services and Cyber. Matt also leads our Nations and Regions work.
Matt sits on a number of industry bodies, including the UKspace Executive Committee and the Task & Finish Group on Industry Resilience for Critical Minerals. Matt has previously represented techUK on the Steering Board of the Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce, Digital Framework Task Group and the advisory board for the Prospering from the Energy Revolution industrial challenge fund.
Prior to his appointment in early 2019, Matt led techUK’s Smart Infrastructure and IoT work, as well as being CEO of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (now Digital Connectivity Forum). During this time he led the telecoms industry’s approach to lowering the cost of network deployment, played a key role in coordinating it’s response to Brexit and was closely involved in the development of the Government’s Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review. He also assisted in the development of the UK’s first secure by design Code of Practice aimed at consumer IoT, oversaw the publication of a paper outlining the tech sector’s view of future mobility services and drove engagement around the use of digital twins.
Prior to joining techUK, Matt worked in Arqiva's public policy team, across the broadcast and telecoms markets. Before that he was a researcher for an MP at Westminster.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 020 7331 2034
- Twitter:
- @Matthew_evs
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-evans-1349b145/
Fred Sugden
Fred Sugden
Fred is responsible for techUK's activities across the Defence and National Security sectors, working to provide members with access to key stakeholders across the Defence and National Security community. Before taking on the role of Associate Director for Defence and National Security, Fred joined techUK in 2018, working as the Programme Head for Defence at techUK, leading the organisation's engagement with the Ministry of Defence. Before joining techUK, he worked at ADS, the national trade association representing Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space companies in the UK.
Fred is responsible for techUK’s market engagement and policy development activities across the Defence and National Security sectors, working closely with various organisations within the Ministry of Defence, and across the wider National Security and Intelligence community. Fred works closely with many techUK member companies that have an interest in these sectors, and is responsible for the activities of techUK's senior Defence & Security Board. Working closely with techUK's Programme Head for Cyber Security, Fred oversees a broad range of activities for techUK members.
Outside of work, Fred's interests include football (a Watford FC fan) and skiing.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 07985 234 170
