Ava Risk Group Limited (ASX: AVA), a global provider of technologies that protect critical infrastructure, has welcomed the announcement by Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of a new AUKUS Pillar Two initiative focused on advanced underwater autonomous systems and the protection of critical subsea infrastructure.
The announcement, made during the 2026 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, reflects growing recognition by governments worldwide that undersea cables, pipelines, energy assets and maritime infrastructure have become increasingly important strategic assets requiring enhanced protection and monitoring.
Recent incidents involving damage to subsea telecommunications cables and critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, Taiwan Strait and other regions have highlighted the growing vulnerability of infrastructure that underpins global communications, trade and energy security.
David Cronin, Chairman of Ava Risk Group, said “The security of critical infrastructure is becoming one of the defining national security challenges of our time. The increasing focus by governments on subsea infrastructure, maritime domain awareness and the protection of strategic assets reflects the reality that modern economies depend upon infrastructure that is often remote, difficult to monitor and increasingly exposed to both conventional and grey zone threats.”
“The AUKUS announcement reinforces the importance of persistent sensing, real-time situational awareness and rapid threat detection capabilities. These are areas where AVA has been investing and delivering solutions for critical infrastructure operators around the world for many years.”
Through its Future Fibre Technologies (FFT) division, AVA develops advanced fibre optic sensing technologies used to monitor and protect critical infrastructure across defence, border security, energy, transportation and communications sectors.
FFT’s distributed fibre sensing technologies provide continuous monitoring capabilities across extensive infrastructure corridors and perimeter environments, delivering real-time detection and situational awareness for operators of critical assets.
The company’s technologies are deployed globally across applications including national borders, airports, energy infrastructure, communications networks and other high-value strategic facilities.
The increasing convergence of physical security, infrastructure resilience, autonomous systems and advanced sensing technologies is expected to drive significant investment across both government and commercial sectors over the coming decade.
Cronin added “As governments and infrastructure operators seek to improve resilience and attribution capabilities, we believe advanced sensing technologies will play an increasingly important role in detecting, assessing and responding to threats against critical infrastructure. AVA supports initiatives that strengthen international cooperation and improve the protection of the assets that underpin economic prosperity and national security.”
To learn more about how FFT’s DAS-based sensing technology helps monitor and protect critical subsea cable infrastructure, click here.
About Ava Risk Group
Ava Risk Group is a global leader in providing technologies and services to protect critical and high value assets and infrastructure. It operates three business segments – Detect, Access and Illuminate. The Detect segment manufactures and markets ‘smart’ fibre optic sensing systems for security and condition monitoring for a range of applications including perimeters, pipelines, conveyors, power cables and data networks. Access is a specialist in the development, manufacture and supply of high security biometric readers, security access control and electronic locking products. Illuminate specialises in the development and manufacture of illuminators, ANPR cameras and perimeter detectors. Ava Risk Group products and services are trusted by some of the most security conscious commercial, industrial, military and government clients in the world. www.avariskgroup.com
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For further information, please contact:
Jenny Brant
Ava Risk Group
jenny.brant@theavagroup.com
+64 21 379 798