Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States – a group known as AUKUS – have agreed to work together on supersonic weapons and cyber warfare capabilities, the three countries’ leaders have said. The development follows the creation of the AUKUS defense alliance between the three nations in September last year, which prompted Australia to cancel a contract for a conventional French submarine in favor of a US-UK nuclear-powered submarine program. relations with French President Emmanuel Macron. In a joint statement Tuesday, AUKUS leaders – UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison – said they were pleased with the progress of the conventionally armed, nuclear submarine program. Australia and its allies will work together in other areas. “We are committed today to launching new tripartite cooperation on ultrasound and anti-ultrasound, and cyber warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information exchange and deepen cooperation on defense innovation,” they said. “These initiatives will add to our existing efforts to deepen our collaboration on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and additional underwater capabilities. “As our work progresses on these and other critical defense and security capabilities, we will seek opportunities to engage allies and close partners.” The US and Australia already have a supersonic weapons program called SCIFiRE, and British officials have said that although Britain will not participate in the program at this time, the three countries will work together on R&D to increase options. their. The Biden government is investing in research and development of supersonic missiles, which travel at five times the speed of sound, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February has heightened European security concerns. “In the light of the unprovoked, unjustified and illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, we reaffirmed our unwavering commitment to an international system that respects human rights, the rule of law and the peaceful settlement of disputes without coercion,” the statement added. their commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific”. Asked about the deal, China’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, warned of measures that could spark a crisis such as the conflict in Ukraine and other parts of the world. “Anyone who does not want to see the Ukrainian crisis should refrain from doing things that could lead other parts of the world to a crisis like this,” Zhang told reporters. “As the Chinese proverb says: If you do not like it, do not impose it on others.” As ballistic missiles fly high in space in an arc to reach their target, a supersonic weapon flies into orbit low in the atmosphere, potentially reaching a target faster. Most importantly, a supersonic missile is a maneuver – like the much slower, often subsonic cruise missile – making it much more difficult to detect and defend. Russia is considered the most advanced nation in the field, while China is also aggressively developing technology, according to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS). France, Germany, Australia, India and Japan are working on ultrasound and Iran, Israel and South Korea have conducted basic technology research, CRS has previously said. The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia launched their major security pact last September. The pact was announced at the time as allowing the three allies to share advanced technologies.
