Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Pete Nguyen provided the following statement:
The United States (U.S.) Department of Defense (DoD), along with the Australian Department of Defence and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MOD), today announced the signing of an agreement to enhance testing of hypersonic vehicles and accelerate implementation of related technologies. Under AUKUS Pillar II, the three nations have entered the Hypersonic Flight Test and Experimentation (HyFliTE) Project Arrangement (PA) to use each other's testing facilities and share technical information to develop, test, and evaluate hypersonic systems.
"We are increasing our collective ability to develop and deliver offensive and defensive hypersonic technologies through a robust series of trilateral tests and experiments that will accelerate the development of hypersonic concepts and critical enabling technologies," said Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
Existing national efforts will be woven together through the PA, which includes up to six trilateral flight test campaigns to occur by 2028 with a total funding pool of US$252 million. These campaigns seek to increase the pace of testing and take advantage of combined partner resources, test facilities, and substantial experience conducting similar campaigns.
"Collaborative efforts are accelerating the development of underpinning enabling technologies, such as high temperature materials, advanced propulsion systems, and guidance and control," said Shyu. "Each of these technologies is integral to the performance of hypersonic weapon systems and provides enhanced operational capability."
HyFliTE will enable the three nations to benefit from the collective expertise of the partners. HyFliTE also supports integrated deterrence, a centerpiece of the trilateral agreement, as well as trilateral requirements for the development and delivery of hypersonic weapon systems.
"The U.S. DoD is committed to working closely with the Australian Department of Defence and the UK MOD to further the pursuit of common and consistent objectives for affordable and responsive flight testing of hypersonic technologies and concepts," added Shyu.
