Biden to announce major hypersonic weapons deal with UK and Australia in warning to Xi

Joe Biden risking nuclear war with Putin says Neil Oliver

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Back in September 2021, the UK, USA and Australia unveiled AUKUS, a three-way defence agreement in response to changing geopolitics, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. US President Joe Biden is now gearing up to expand on the promises laid out by AUKUS, in an announcement expected to be delivered imminently.

Three sources familiar with the situation told The Financial Times that Mr Biden could reveal the plans as soon as Tuesday.

The Pentagon has pushed forward with developing hypersonic weapons after Beijing pulled ahead in developing their hypersonic arsenal.

Hypersonic missiles can fly at over five times the speed of sound.

China is known to have conducted tests that run into the hundreds.

Hypersonics are more difficult to intercept than ballistic missiles, and can change course at very high speeds.

Ballistic missiles, on the other hand, typically follow a more fixed trajectory once launched.

Beijing has successfully trialled a weapons system that could launch hypersonic missiles over the South Pole.

But US defence systems have concentrated their efforts on missiles coming via the North Pole.

Admiral John Aquilino, who heads up the Indo-Pacific Command, confirmed that the US was fortifying their relationship with Australia partly due to Chinese hypersonic success.

He told the FT: “The ability to identify and track, and defend against those hypersonics is really the key.”

He was speaking as the US kicked off talks with Australian security services at a top-secret facility run by the CIA and Australian intelligence services.

General James Dickenson, of the Space Command, said the top priority was making “space domain awareness” as good as it could be.

This refers to the US’s ability to locate and track missiles.

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