Germany, Australia deepen military ties, plan space warning system

Germany and Australia have agreed to deepen military cooperation in response to evolving security threats, including plans to develop a space-based early warning system, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday.

Pistorius and his Australian counterpart Richard Marles also agreed to work towards a status of forces agreement to simplify and formalize troop deployments, while stepping up defence industry cooperation.

Pistorius said closer defence cooperation was essential, pointing to supply shortages highlighted by the war in the Middle East, particularly in munitions and air defence.

He added that Germany needed to diversify suppliers and partnerships after relying too heavily on single sources in the past, including China for supply chains and the United States for certain weapons systems. He said Berlin aimed to broaden partnerships to ensure affordable defence equipment could be made available at scale.

Pistorius: Better not to put all eggs in one basket

"It's much better not to carry all eggs in one basket, and therefore what we all are learning now is to more diversify our relations, to reduce our dependencies," Pistorius said.

Marles described the talks as a significant step and said: "In a challenging world, I fundamentally feel safer having had the kind of conversation that we've had today."

Australia is the final stop on Pistorius' trip, which also included Japan and Singapore and saw him accompanied by senior executives from major German defence firms.

Talks in Canberra were also scheduled to include discussions with Australian defence company Electro Optic Systems (EOS), which offers a laser weapon designed to counter drones. The system is containerized and equipped with a laser in the 50 to 150 kilowatt power range.

The system is marketed as capable of destroying drones at distances of up to 3 kilometres and disrupting them at up to 15 kilometres.

Australia as a key Indo-Pacific security partner

Germany's Defence Ministry describes Australia as one of its key security partners in the southern Indo-Pacific. The two countries have had a strategic partnership since 2013, which was expanded in 2021.

Space-based sensing capabilities are also a focus of the trip. The German military is set to invest more than €35 billion ($40.5 billion) in space systems in the coming years, including the development of a global network to monitor space activity.

A letter of intent signed to station space sensors in Australia lays the groundwork for closer cooperation between the two countries.

Existing defence cooperation includes involvement by German defence firm Rheinmetall. The company has production facilities and maintenance capabilities in Australia, where military vehicles, platforms and turrets are developed, manufactured and serviced for the Australian armed forces as well as for export.