UK, Australia and US agree to ‘accelerate development’ on hypersonic

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was denounced as “unprovoked, unjustifiable, and unlawful” by leaders of the three nations, whose cooperation was first perceived as reflecting worries about China.

The United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia have agreed to collaborate on hypersonic and anti-hypersonic weaponry.

The agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, known as AUKUS, was unveiled in September with the goal of sharing nuclear submarine research in the Pacific at a time when China was causing increasing alarm.

Now the three nations have shifted their focus to Russia and added additional areas of cooperation, including hypersonic weaponry, which Vladimir Putin’s troops are believed to have deployed lately in Ukraine.

The leaders reiterated their commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific” in a joint statement published by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

“We restated our steadfast commitment to an international system that respects human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful settlement of conflicts free of coercion in light of Russia’s unprovoked, unjustifiable, and unlawful invasion of Ukraine,” they continued.

The nations agreed to collaborate on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, as well as electronic warfare capabilities, as well as improve information exchange and strengthen defence innovation cooperation, according to the statement.

It comes after Russia announced the deployment of its “Kinzhal” hypersonic missile in Ukraine, a weapon that can travel at 10 times the speed of sound and cannot be safely monitored or intercepted by any modern defence system at that speed.

North Korea has claimed to have tested hypersonic missiles, as have the United States and China.

In the United States, the Pentagon’s $773 billion budget request for 2023 includes $4.7 billion for hypersonic weapons research and development.

The US and Australia already have a hypersonic weapon programme dubbed SCIFiRE, and British officials stated that while the UK would not join it at this time, the three countries would collaborate on research and development to expand their possibilities.

According to the most recent joint AUKUS announcement, they want to “accelerate development of sophisticated hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities.”
The nations were also happy with the progress made in the partnership’s first proposal to assist the Australian navy in procuring a multiple fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, according to the statement.

Mr Morrison confirmed last month that a new submarine facility will be built on Australia’s east coast.

London, Washington, and Canberra are also attempting to collaborate in areas such as cyber and quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, and robot submarines, all of which are areas where Western democracies are competing with competitor countries for the upper hand.

The AUKUS accord sparked uproar in Paris when it was first announced, as the submarine deal replaced a prior proposal for France to provide Australia with diesel-electric boats.

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