Defence and Space
Defence and space cooperation have emerged as strategic pillars of the Australia-Korea bilateral relationship, reflecting deepening geopolitical alignment, shared regional security interests, and expanding collaboration across defence industry, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, and critical technologies. Australia and Korea elevated their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021, with defence and security cooperation continuing to deepen through regular 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministers’ Meetings, high-level government engagement, and growing industry collaboration.
As both countries strengthen sovereign defence capability and expand strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, Australia and Korea are increasing collaboration across defence manufacturing, aerospace, cyber security, and advanced capabilities. Major projects such as Hanwha Defence Australia’s LAND 400 Phase 3 Redback program, Hanwha Aerospace’s Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence in Geelong, and the LAND 8116 Protected Mobile Fires program demonstrate the scale of bilateral defence industry cooperation and Korea’s growing long-term investment in Australia’s defence manufacturing sector.
Collaboration between Australian and Korean defence SMEs is also expanding. Corvus Solutions and Korea’s MNC Solutions signed an MOU to explore cooperation opportunities in defence technologies and advanced systems integration, reflecting the growing role of industry partnerships in strengthening bilateral capability development and supply chain collaboration.
Space collaboration is also emerging as a growing area of partnership between Australia and Korea, supported by increasing cooperation across satellite technology, space research, advanced communications, launch capability, and future technologies. Australia’s growing space ecosystem and Korea’s advanced aerospace and manufacturing capabilities create strong opportunities for collaboration across commercial, civil, and strategic space industries.
Recent Activities
Hosted the AKBC Canberra Leadership Summit session on “Australia-Korea Strategic Partnership in a Contested Indo-Pacific” with the Hon Matt Thistlethwaite MP, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (2026)
Co-hosted the Australia-Korea Space Economy Workshop in Seoul involving Australian and Korean government, industry, and research stakeholders across the space sector (2026)
Hosted the AKBC Canberra Leadership Summit Roundtable with the Hon Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence (2024)
Hosted the Australia-Korea Trade Roundtable with Senator the Hon Don Farrell, Minister for Trade and Tourism, as part of the AKBC-KABC Joint Meeting (2024)
Supported bilateral engagement across defence manufacturing, sovereign capability, and Australia-Korea industry collaboration opportunities
Contributed thought leadership on Australia-Korea defence cooperation, including the article “Will Australia’s defence relationship with Korea be a casualty of the DSR?” by Bill Paterson PSM
Australia–Korea Space Economy Workshop in Seoul (2026)
Why this sector matters
Defence and space collaboration are increasingly important to both countries’ economic security, industrial capability, and strategic resilience. As Australia and Korea continue strengthening cooperation across defence industry, advanced technologies, and regional security, there are growing opportunities for long-term collaboration across manufacturing, R&D, aerospace, sovereign capability, and future defence and space industries.
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