LONDON (CU)_Amid escalating geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe, many developed economies have started to strengthen their security relations with close allies and reassess their military capabilities. For the first time in history, Kinzhal hypersonic missiles were used by Russia in its recent invasion of Ukraine, while China has also been ramping up the development of such hypersonic weapons, which are reportedly capable of travelling at 25 times the speed of sound. Accordingly, the United Kingdom has agreed to cooperate with two of its major allies for the development of hypersonic weapons and to strengthen cooperation on electronic warfare capabilities.
In September last year, a trilateral security pact, known as AUKUS, was formed between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, with the objective of cooperating on several military and security matters, including cyber capabilities, additional undersea capabilities, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies. It even led to the cancelling a contract for a French submarine by Canberra, in favour of a nuclear submarine programme supported by the US and the UK, sparking outrage at Élysée Palace.
In a joint statement issued this week, the leaders of AUKUS, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Scott Morrison said they were pleased with the progress in its programme for nuclear-powered submarines for Australia, adding that the allies intend to co-operate in several other areas as well. “We also committed today to commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities,” the statement read. Washington and Canberra already have a hypersonic weapon programme called the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment, commonly identified as SCIFiRE. According to British officials, although the UK will not be joining this agreement, the three countries will be working together on research and development in this area.
Reaffirming their commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific”, the leaders said: “In light of Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and unlawful invasion of Ukraine, we reiterated our unwavering commitment to an international system that respects human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes free from coercion.”
