United States and Allies Enter Hypersonic Accord

The United States, United Kingdom and Australia are entering an agreement related to hypersonic systems, according to a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) press release.

The accord will allow for U.S., U.K. and Australian governments to have access to each other’s experimentation facilities and share technical information to help develop their own hypersonic systems.

Officials with the DoD said in the release that the agreement, known as the Hypersonic Flight Test and Experimentation Project Arrangement, includes $252 million in funding and up to six trilateral flight test campaigns that will take place by 2028. DoD officials said they hope this partnership will allow for quicker research and testing within the hypersonic systems industry. 

"Collaborative efforts are accelerating the development of underpinning enabling technologies, such as high-temperature materials, advanced propulsion systems and guidance and control," said Heidi Shyu, under secretary of defense for research and engineering, in the release. "Each of these technologies is integral to the performance of hypersonic weapon systems and provides enhanced operational capability."

This is the latest agreement made between the countries, who entered a trilateral security partnership called AUKUS in September 2021. The arrangement is intended to boost each government’s ability to support security and defense interests while also pushing for a better data sharing network between the three countries.