William & Mary will be the academic home in the U.S. to a global initiative boosting defense and shipbuilding efforts.

The university will host the United States’ Center of Excellence for AUKUS, the security partnership between the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. The center will support the effort by providing research, technology and workforce development.

Academic partners are expected in Sheffield, United Kingdom, and Adelaide, Australia.

The AUKUS agreement began in 2021 to enhance security and defense capabilities in the Indo-Pacific. The agreement focuses on providing nuclear-powered submarines to Australia and sharing enhanced technologies.

Half of those particular submarines, the Virginia-class submarines, are built at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipyard. The oth

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