Is Oz testing hypersonic cruise missiles?

Is the Australian government testing hypersonic cruise missiles?

Reports suggest that testing is underway at the Woomera Prohibited Area, a remote desert test site the size of England in South Australia.

US military aircraft, including a high-altitude intelligence jet believed to have flown in from Hawaii via Guam, have been tracked near the site in connection with the SCIFiRE programme.

This a joint US-Australia initiative to develop scramjet-powered missiles capable of travelling at five times the speed of sound. And low-altitude scramjet flight makes the missiles significantly harder to intercept.

China and Russia already have operationally deployed hypersonic weapons.

It’s being said that the US and its allies are still catching up.

The plan is ultimately to deploy the weapons from US fighter bombers, with drone applications also under consideration.

Woomera has been a joint weapons testing facility since 1947 and carries a contested history.

Britain conducted nine nuclear tests in the region between 1953 and 1963, causing radioactive contamination that affected Aboriginal communities.

A 1984 royal commission later condemned Britain’s handling of both the tests and their aftermath.

Australia’s deputy prime minister and defence minister Richard Marles declined to provide details, saying only that testing with international partners was routine.