The development of hypersonic technology is to be accelerated via a new arrangement under the AUKUS strategic partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 18 November 2024.
The joint work, under AUKUS Pillar II, will enable the faster development, testing and evaluation of innovative hypersonic vehicles and technologies, representing a new level of collaboration between AUKUS partners.
Hypersonic capabilities include long-range strike missiles capable of travelling considerably faster than the speed of sound, as well as the technology to defend against such threats.
“Collaborating trilaterally will allow AUKUS partners to accelerate the development of cutting-edge, battle-winning capabilities in a way that no one nation could do alone,” the UK MoD stated. “The UK, US and Australia will be able to take advantage of collective resources, shared testing facilities and pooled technical expertise.
“This work is aimed at ensuring each nation has the capabilities needed to defend against rapidly evolving threats, with the three partners signing the Hypersonic Flight Test and Experimentation (HyFliTE) Project Arrangement,” the ministry added. “Existing national efforts will be incorporated, including multiple test flights of hypersonic vehicles that can be used in a range of activities.”
The flight tests planned under HyFliTE will provide what the MoD called “robust experimentation” to accelerate the development of hypersonic concepts and critical enabling technologies.
“This landmark arrangement with our US and Australian partners demonstrates the commitment of AUKUS partners to staying at the forefront of battle-winning defence technology,” UK Defence Secretary John Healey was quoted as saying. “By combining our expertise and resources with those of our closest allies, we are accelerating the development of crucial hypersonic capabilities.
“This work will keep us ahead of our adversaries on the battlefield, enhance our collective security and contribute to maintaining peace and stability in an increasingly complex and dangerous world,” Healey added.
The United States and Australia have been co-operating on hypersonics for a number of years. In 2020, for example, the two countries teamed for a project called the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE), which fed into the US Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile programme.
