Liberal senator insists Australia must be ‘ruthless’ in pursuit of US military technology

James Paterson says regulatory barriers in US could imperil access to AI, hypersonic weapons and other advanced systems

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Australia needs to be “ruthless” about prioritising which technologies it pursues under the second pillar of the Aukus pact to overcome “regulatory barriers” in the US, the shadow minister for cybersecurity and countering foreign interference, James Paterson, has said.

The Liberal senator made the comments on the Guardian’s Australian politics podcast, warning that an “absence of consensus” in the US and a “clear plan” in Australia could see it miss out.

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