Portfolio — 26 March 2026

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence used a meeting with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to advance the Australia-Germany defence relationship on two concrete fronts: a letter of intent on space-domain awareness cooperation and a letter of cooperation with German company TDW on missile manufacture in Australia [TA-260326-house-acd3ee5310f1:s153].

The TDW agreement is a direct addition to Australia's sovereign defence industrial base, placing missile production capability onshore and extending a pattern of in-country manufacturing that already includes Rheinmetall's Brisbane facility, which produces Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicles for both armies [TA-260326-house-acd3ee5310f1:s153]. The Deputy Prime Minister situated Germany within the broader strategic landscape — noting its standing as the world's third-largest economy, its expanding defence budget, and its position as the largest single contributor to support for Ukraine — to frame the bilateral relationship as consequential beyond Europe.

Operational cooperation between the two countries is already running: Australian E-7 aircraft have deployed from Ramstein Air Base in Germany, and both countries participate jointly in Exercise Talisman Sabre and Exercise Pitch Black. The Deputy Prime Minister described the relationship as grounded in shared values and a common commitment to the rules-based international order, with defence industry engagement serving as the practical expression of that alignment [TA-260326-house-acd3ee5310f1:s153].

The two new agreements — space-domain awareness and missile manufacture — extend the relationship into capability domains that carry direct strategic weight for Australia.