September 8, 2007: The U.S. and Australia signed another agreement to exchange top-secret military technology and information. The new deal is believed to increase the amount of top-secret U.S. technology Australia has access to. Agreements like this, both formal and informal, have been in play since World War II. The Australians have been very good at keeping American secrets secret. Such has not been the case with Americas other major ally in the region, Japan.

The details of these agreements are never officially discussed. It is known that several generations of Australian warships, especially submarines, have had access to the latest U.S. electronics innovations. Same with aircraft and electronic warfare gear in general.

Australia also cooperated with the U.S. is establishing and running electronic eavesdropping facilities, which has involved more exchanges of technology. This was vital during the Cold War, when China and Russia were not only always up to something, but were extremely secretive about it. U.S. and Australian intelligence and Special Operations organizations have working relationships going back decades.