Hypersonic arms race: What AUKUS pact on missiles means for the world

When China tested
a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in October last year, many nations,
including the United States, were surprised. While Beijing denied the test, the
US maintained that the denial was an act of obfuscation. Five months later, in
mid-March, the United States tested its own hypersonic missile, but kept it
under the wraps until recently. Now, hypersonic missiles have become part of AUKUS
configuration.

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Joe Biden, the
United States’ president, along with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, said in a statement that the three
countries will enhance cooperation in several areas, including hypersonic
weapons as part of their commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific”.

The AUKUS, as a
pact, is designed to counter China’s increasing military presence in the
Indo-Pacific. The addition of the cooperation clause on hypersonic missiles
makes in apparent that an arms race is underway to score these fast and
accurate weapon systems that can deliver nuclear annihilation.

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“We are committed
today to commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics,
and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing
and to deepen cooperation on defence innovation,” the three leaders said in a
statement.

Hypersonic
missiles travel at five times the speed of sound. They keep a low altitude and
as technology exists today, they are virtually unstoppable. Moreover,
hypersonics are extremely accurate and can target specific locations while
causing minimum collateral damage.

While China and
the US, as well as other nations such as India, are testing hypersonic
missiles, Russia actually fired a hypersonic missile in Ukraine on March 19 to
destroy a weapons depot. This marked the first use of hypersonic missiles in
active combat, according to the BBC.

With AUKUS cooperating
on hypersonic missiles, the Indo-Pacific, an already volatile region, will
become even more militarised. Announced in September 2021, the AUKUS is a
trilateral security deal whose primary purpose is to enable the three nations
acquire nuclear submarines.