The U.S. Department of Defense is set to engage in collaborative hypersonics experiments with the Australian military in the coming year, as stated by the Pentagon's chief technology officer, Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum on December 2, Shyu emphasized the deepening partnership between the two countries in hypersonics over the past year.

In May, Australia observed the U.S. Defense Department's Technology Readiness Experiment (T-REX) at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. Following this, members of Shyu's team visited Australia to witness the Autonomous Warrior exercise. Shyu noted that conducting joint experiments is the logical progression in their collaboration, stating, "We’re already in the process of working very closely with them to figure out how to integrate some of our experiments in Australia."

Hypersonic vehicles, capable of traveling and maneuvering at speeds of Mach 5 or higher, are a key focus of the second phase of the trilateral pact between Australia, the U.S., and the United Kingdom, known as AUKUS. While Pillar I focused on nuclear submarine development, the second pillar aims at advanced technology efforts, including hypersonics, quantum computing, autonomy, and electronic warfare.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin led an AUKUS technology summit on December 1, during which several technology collaboration initiatives were launched with leaders from Australia and the U.K.

The collaborative hypersonic research between Australia and the U.S. spans over 15 years. In 2017, they concluded the Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HiFiRE), a secretive decade-long effort exploring future high-speed weapons and subsystem designs through flight tests.

In 2020, both nations initiated the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE), focusing on developing a Mach 5 precision strike missile powered by an air-breathing scramjet engine for deployment on a tactical fighter aircraft. This initiative has contributed to the U.S. Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile program.

Beyond hypersonics, discussions are underway for the integration of air and missile defense capabilities between the U.S. and Australia. Shyu and Pentagon acquisition chief Bill Laplante visited Australia this summer for potential collaboration discussions. In September, Shyu further met with Australian officials to advance the partnership, including discussions on the Integrated Battle Command System's role in connecting sensors and shooters for air and missile defense in Guam.

The U.S. Army, leading the acquisition effort for this system, collaborates with the Missile Defense Agency to deploy the first wave of equipment to Guam in 2024, with Northrop Grumman handling the system's development.

Simultaneously, Australia is actively pursuing its own integrated air and missile defense capability through the Joint Air Battle Management System. On August 28, Lockheed Martin was selected as the "strategic partner" for this program, marking a significant step in Australia's quest for advanced defense capabilities.