UK, Australia, and the US have agreed to’speed up development’ of hypersonic technology.

The presidents of the three countries decried Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “unprovoked, unjustified, and illegitimate,” with their collaboration first seen as a response to concerns over China.
The UK, US, and Australia have decided to work together on hypersonic and anti-hypersonic weapons.

The AUKUS pact, which brings Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States together to share nuclear submarine research in the Pacific at a time when China is raising increasing concern, was announced in September.
Now, the three countries have moved their emphasis to Russia and added new areas of collaboration, such as hypersonic weaponry, which Vladimir Putin’s soldiers are suspected of using in Ukraine recently.

In a joint statement, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison reaffirmed their commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
“In light of Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and unlawful invasion of Ukraine, we reaffirmed our unshakable commitment to an international system that respects human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful settlement of disputes free of coercion,” they said.

According to the statement, the countries committed to work on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, as well as electronic warfare capabilities, boost information exchange, and strengthen defence innovation collaboration.
It comes after Russia revealed the deployment in Ukraine of its “Kinzhal” hypersonic missile, a weapon capable of travelling at 10 times the speed of sound and incapable of being safely tracked or intercepted by any contemporary defence system at that speed.
North Korea, like the US and China, has claimed to have tested hypersonic missiles.

The Pentagon’s budget plan for 2023 in the United States includes $4.7 billion for hypersonic weapons research and development.
The United States and Australia already have a hypersonic weapon programme known as SCIFiRE, and while the United Kingdom will not join it at this time, the three nations will work on research and development to improve their capabilities.
They intend to “accelerate development of advanced hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities,” according to the most recent joint AUKUS declaration.
According to the statement, the countries were also pleased with the progress achieved in the partnership’s initial proposal to help the Australian navy in buying a multiple fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

Last month, Mr Morrison confirmed the construction of a new submarine station on Australia’s east coast.
In areas like cyber and quantum technology, artificial intelligence, and robot submarines, London, Washington, and Canberra are striving to collaborate, all of which are areas where Western democracies are battling with rival governments for the upper hand.

When the AUKUS agreement was initially revealed, it caused a stir in Paris since the submarine contract supplanted a previous proposal for France to furnish Australia with diesel-electric boats.