Germany, Australia deepen military ties, plan space warning system

Germany and Australia 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.

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 was 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.

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.