Arlington, Va. – Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) President and CEO Eric Fanning today welcomed the joint leaders' statement on the third anniversary of the Australia–United Kingdom–United States (AUKUS) security partnership.

"Marking the third anniversary of the Australia – United Kingdom – United States partnership, the Aerospace Industries Association celebrates how far we’ve come, but also how far we still must go, to fully realize the promise of one of the most consequential – and ambitious – security partnerships in history," Fanning stated.

Fanning emphasized that significant strides have been made to modernize trade systems to enable closer cooperation between the U.S. and its partner governments. However, he pointed out that more work is needed to adjust the Excluded Technologies List, modernize the Technology Security and Foreign Disclosure process, and accelerate the Congressional Notification process to fully harness AUKUS's potential.

"Just as we have been for the past three years, AIA will continue working across industry, throughout the U.S. government, and with our industry trade partners in Australia and the U.K. to set the right conditions for AUKUS success," he added.

AIA has been a leading advocate for policies and regulatory frameworks that support the American aerospace and defense industry's role in AUKUS. Recent updates to the U.S. defense trade system include certification of comparability and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) exemptions released in August 2024.

Read AIA’s full set of recommendations to modernize key systems that support U.S., U.K., and Australian cooperation here.