US, Australia Eye Joint Hypersonic Tests by 2024

The Department of Defense’s chief technology officer said the United States and Australia plan to engage in joint hypersonics experiments by 2024.

Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Dec. 2, Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering and a 2023 Wash100 winner, shared that Australia and the U.S. have been building their partnership on hypersonics since 2022. Specifically, she said Australia observed the DOD’s Technology Readiness Experiment in Indiana in May while Pentagon officials traveled to Australia for the Autonomous Warrior exercise.

Shyu said the next step for the U.S.-Australia partnership is joint experiments. Hypersonic platforms are the second phase of the U.S.-UK-Australia trilateral agreement, Defense News reported Monday.

The U.S. and Australia have a strong partnership under the AUKUS trilateral pact, going beyond hypersonics.

In November, the AUKUS countries engaged in an underwater exercise to launch uncrewed underwater vessels and test new equipment. The Integrated Battle Problem 23-3 exercise saw soldiers engage in undersea warfare, mine countermeasures and infrastructure monitoring.

In September, the AUKUS countries entered into a 22-year partnership for space-based object tracking and space situational awareness. Under the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability program, the U.S., UK and Australia will work together in tracking, identifying and characterizing space objects.