Australian Defense Minister Dutton and Defense Secretary Austin at the Pentagon Sept. 15 2021

SYDNEY: Australia’s defense minister cut the ribbon at the country’s new hypersonics center Tuesday, marking another step forward for the country’s offensive and defensive hypersonic capabilities.

“The technology that is developed here will help us to better defend against the malign use of this technology. And to give us the ability to strike against any potential adversaries from a distance and deter aggression against Australia’s national interests,” Defense Minister Peter Dutton said in Brisbane, where the center was built.

Dutton also announced a “highly successful defense flight trial” late last year, part of a classified program aimed to “counter hypersonic threats,” but provided no further detail.

A release says the $14 million center can accommodate more than 60 staff. The University of Queensland there is a leading force in Australian hypersonics research.

Australia and the United States are developing and testing hypersonic cruise missile prototypes under what’s called the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) — part of a broader push by Australia to build a range of precision strike weapons in the face of China and Russia’s aggressive development of hypersonic and other long-range weapons.

The defense contractor Thales Australia welcomed the Brisbane expansion. “We look forward to the expansion of the defence ecosystem at Eagle Farm, where Thales currently has around 150 highly skilled and experienced staff supporting ADF programs,” Chris Jenkins, CEO of Thales Australia, said in a statement.

Thales works with Southern Launch, Airspeed, Mincham and Mackay Defence to provide tooling and precision engineering, specialized insulation, composite cases and design and launch services.

A hypersonic cruise missile under development by the US and Australia uses an air-breathing scramjet engine and is meant to be carried by Australia’s F-18s and F-35As, as well as the P-8A surveillance aircraft. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have separate contracts to work on this.

While the amount of money Australia spent on the center is tiny by American standards, much of the money on hypersonics may well be out of sight as part of the AUKUS agreement, for which hypersonics are a key component. While the nuclear-powered submarines have attracted much of the attention, sources here and in the US say classified research and development is a substantial part of AUKUS work.

The fact that Queensland is an important battleground in the federal elections to be held before the third week of May may have influenced Dutton’s decision to highlight the new facility. As one of the most senior members in the government, he has many tools to promote his party’s chances, and in Australia defense jobs are highly prized.

Of geopolitical strategic concerns, Dutton said, “Today we face I think the most significant change in our strategic environment since the Second World War,” including from hypersonic technology. The test flight, he said, is important not just for offensive capabilities, but for research in how to bolster Australia’s defenses.

“We’ll not stand by and watch our country lose its competitive and our capability edge,” he said.

For Ukraine Crisis, Dutton Doesn’t Expect Australian Involvement

Dutton addressed the situation in Ukraine making it clear that Australia does not expect to send troops should Russia invade.

With the US, Britain and other countries evacuating non-essential personnel from Ukraine in the face of the massive Russian troop buildup, and the increase in the amount of military assistance from NATO countries Australia has kept a very close eye on the region.

Instead, he said in a separate interview with Sky News, “We’ve got a lot going on in the Indo-Pacific at the moment. Australia’s responsibility is within our region. We haven’t received a request for any assistance and we wouldn’t expect to receive one.”

However, Australia might help Russia’s neighbor combat Putin’s cyber attacks if they ask for assistance. He noted that “Ukraine is under a significant cyber-attack from Russia at the moment” but no Australian commitments have been made yet.