The AUKUS security alliance, consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, announced on the 18th (local time) that it has signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation in the development of hypersonic missiles, the U.S. Department of Defense said.
The three countries signed the "Hypersonic Flight Test and Experiment Project Agreement" to enhance hypersonic carrier testing and accelerate the application of related technologies.
At the AUKUS Defense Ministers Meeting held last September, the defense ministers of the three countries are holding a press conference. Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News.
According to the agreement, each country will share their hypersonic system facilities and development, testing, and evaluation results, integrating efforts that were previously developed separately.
As part of this, a total of $252 million (approximately 350 billion KRW) will be invested to conduct six hypersonic flight tests by 2028.
Amid concerns that the U.S. is falling behind Russia and China in hypersonic missile technology, it has recently been accelerating cooperation on hypersonic missiles with its allies.
Heidi Shyu, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, said, "Through a series of robust trilateral tests and experiments to accelerate the development of hypersonic concepts and core technologies, we are strengthening our collective capability to develop and deliver hypersonic technologies for both offensive and defensive purposes."
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