The Event: Indo Pacific 2025 (November 4-6 in Sydney) brought 25,000 attendees, 900 defense exhibitors, and 200 naval delegates from 50 nations for the world's largest maritime exposition focused on AUKUS submarine progress.

Major Announcements:

The Money: Australia investing $159 billion over next decade in maritime capabilities. But former PM Malcolm Turnbull warns current defense spending "isn't enough" for nuclear navy and other needs.

Trump Factor: Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy quoted Trump saying AUKUS is "proceeding at full steam ahead," addressing concerns about US commitment under the administration.

If you wanted to see Australia's nuclear submarine ambitions become real, Indo Pacific 2025 was where it happened.

Over three days in Sydney, the Australian government and defense industry made announcement after announcement showing AUKUS is moving from PowerPoint slides to actual manufacturing, contracts, and supply chains.

"Once you're in, you're in," one defense industry executive remarked. "We have to keep going about that every single day in order to make sure we deliver that capability."

That commitment is showing up in dollars, factories, qualified suppliers, and—perhaps most importantly—Australian technology being selected for British and American submarines, not just the other way around.

The biggest surprise? An Adelaide company beating global competition to supply a critical component for nuclear submarines.

Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy announced that PMB Defence will supply nickel zinc batteries for AUKUS submarines—not just Australia's boats, but also the UK's fleet.

"Today I'm announcing that PMB, a great innovative Australian company based in Adelaide will be supplying batteries to the AUKUS submarines, not just Australia's AUKUS submarines, but the submarines to be manufactured in the United Kingdom," Conroy said.

The contracts with BAE Systems are worth more than A$34 million (US$22 million), with expectations of more than doubling once the technology is proven for SSN-AUKUS boats.

This is significant because PMB already supplies main storage batteries for Australia's Collins-class submarines. Now they're exporting that expertise back to the UK—reversing the typical flow of technology in AUKUS.

"This will add to the work that we're already doing for the UK through the Astute and Dreadnought-class programs," said Mike Hartas from PMB Defence.

It's also creating jobs: the announcement adds to 450 jobs already generated through ASC and BAE working on AUKUS in South Australia.

Perhaps the most significant long-term development: Australian companies are breaking into the ultra-exclusive US nuclear submarine supply chain.

H&B Defence (a joint venture between Huntington Ingalls Industries and Babcock created in June 2024) issued an expression of interest for Australian involvement in the nuclear submarine enterprise.

378 Australian companies responded.

On November 4, 11 companies were successfully validated against HII's Newport News Shipbuilding standards through the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) program:

These suppliers were benchmarked to meet the exacting standards of US nuclear submarine construction—one of the world's most demanding defense supply chains.

Once additional requirements are completed, they'll join eight other........

© International Business Times