AUKUS and the Industrial Base Race: Building the Future of Subsea Capability

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When most people hear "AUKUS," they think of submarines. But according to Lee Davis, Senior Director at Honeywell Aerospace Australia, that's only part of the story.

In this episode of Tech Transforms, Carolyn Ford sits down with Lee Davis to explore how AUKUS is driving one of the most ambitious industrial transformations ever attempted across Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Beyond submarines, AUKUS is reshaping how allied nations share information, align security frameworks, coordinate manufacturing capacity, and collaborate across complex defense supply chains.

Davis explains why the biggest challenge isn't technology, workforce, or even production capacity, it's enabling secure, real-time collaboration between governments, primes, suppliers, and manufacturers across three different nations. The conversation examines export control reforms, digital engineering environments, industrial interoperability, and the role secure cloud infrastructure will play in accelerating defense innovation.

The discussion also explores how lessons learned through AUKUS are already benefiting other initiatives, including Australia's Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) program, and why AI may become a critical enabler for future industrial collaboration.

Show Notes:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-davis-82323633/

Honeywell Aerospace Website: https://www.honeywellaerospace.com

Australia GWEO Enterprise: https://www.defence.gov.au/about/who-we-are/organisation-structure/guided-weapons-explosive-ordnance-group

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