Hypersonic missiles: UK, US, and Australia to boost defence co-operation

[Jimbuna]

Better late than never I suppose.

The UK, US, and Australia will begin co-operating on research into hypersonic weapons and how to defend against them, the government has said.

The programme will be part of the AUKUS partnership, a security pact announced by the three countries last year.

It follows the development of hypersonic missiles by China and Russia and their purported use by Russia in Ukraine last month.

Hypersonic weapons are those that exceed five times the speed of sound.

They are harder to defend against because of their speed as well as the fact they fly at low altitudes - beyond the line of sight of ground-based radars - and can manoeuvre mid-flight.

The UK does not currently possess hypersonic missiles.

The US and Australia have an existing joint programme to develop the weapons but the UK government stressed the focus of the new venture would be on defence.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61000416