Australia and the United States announced that they are partnering to test and develop an air-launched hypersonic cruise missile. The powerful collaboration will be under the bilateral SCIFiRE or Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment program.
In this handout photo released by the South Korean Defense Ministry, South Korea's Hyunmu-2 ballistic missile is fired during an exercise aimed to counter North Korea's nuclear test on September 4, 2017 in East Coast, South Korea. South Korea's military said Monday it conducted a combined live-fire exercise in response to North Korea's sixth nuclear test a day earlier.
CNN World reported that the new project is expected to counter Russia and China since they are also developing powerful missiles.
"We will continue to invest in advanced capabilities to give the Australian Defence Force more options to deter aggression against Australia's interests," said Defense Minister Linda Reynolds via CNN.
However, Reynolds did not provide any confirmation on how much the project will cost when the missiles are finally operational.
U.S. Airforce will execute the new program
According to Defense News' latest report, Australia and the U.S.'s new collaboration will be executed by the U.S. Air Force, but it will still be monitored by "auspices" of the weapons program executive officer.
In this handout photo released by the South Korean Defense Ministry, U.S. M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System firing an MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile during a U.S. and South Korea joint missile drill aimed to counter North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile test on July 5, 2017 in East Coast, South Korea. The U.S. Army and South Korean military responded to North Korea's missile launch with a combined ballistic missile exercise on Wednesday, into South Korean waters along the country's eastern coastline.
The new program will run for more than 15 years, researching on rocket motors, sensors, advanced manufacturing materials, and scramjets between the two powerful countries.
The distribution of powers and authorities on the upcoming program was discussed by Reynolds and the former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper during the bilateral Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultation talks, which was conducted in Washington last July.
New hypersonic missile specs
The new weapon will be a Mach 5-class precision strike missile. When it is operational, it has a propulsion-launch feature and will be powered by an air-breathing scramjet engine.
The upcoming hypersonic missile is expected to arrive within the next five to ten years. Tactical fighter aircraft, such as EA-18G Growler, F-35A Lightning II, the P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft, F/A-18F Super Hornet is expected to carry it once it is finished, as explained by Air Vice Marshal Catherine Roberts, the head of Air Force capability at the RAAF Headquarters in Canberra.
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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.
