Australia is now taking the commitment seriously to developing and defending against missiles faster than the speed of sound, with the opening of a multi million dollar state-of-the-art Hypersonics Research Precinct at Eagle Farm in Brisbane last week.
This follows a 2020 agreement between Australia and the United States to develop and test hypersonic cruise missile prototypes under the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFIRE) which draws on 15 years of research and collaboration between Australia and the western superpower on hypersonic scramjets (see above pic), rocket motors, sensors, and advanced manufacturing materials, including actual launches and flight trials.
In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that exceeds five times the speed of sound – or about 6,200km per hour, starting at speeds of Mach 5 and above. The shape of these hypersonic weapons allows them to manouvre toward a target or away from defenses without being detected by radar, posing a challenge to missile defense systems.
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