The Pentagon announced that AUKUS added Hypersonic Missiles as the second pillar of the strategic partnership, which will be the AUKUS Pillar II.
According to Pentagon spokeswoman Major Pete Nguyen, the Pentagon, the Australian Department of Defence, and the UK MOD have signed an agreement to integrate hypersonic vehicle and related technology testing within the "Hypersonic Flight Test and Experimentation (HyFliTE)" program.
The HyFliTE Project Arrangement (PA) will combine existing national initiatives, including up to six trilateral flight test campaigns by 2028, with a budget of $252 million.
HyFliTE will allow the three nations to benefit from the partners' combined knowledge. It also supports integrated deterrence, a key component of the trilateral agreement, and trilateral requirements for developing and delivering hypersonic weapons systems.
