BAE Systems Australia has announced additional funding for the development of Canberra’s hypersonic weapons capabilities.
The global arms manufacturer will invest $5 million this year and an undisclosed amount of money over the next four years to build a high-speed weapons ecosystem in the country, it said in a statement.
The amount will be on top of the more than $11 million that the company has already invested in hypersonic and high-speed weapons research in Australia in the past decade.
Opportunity for Industry, Academia
The capacity to develop such weapons locally will lead to “opportunities for Australian industry and academia, through the investment of new and complementary design, development and manufacturing capabilities.”
Brad Yelland, Chief Technology Officer of BAE Systems Australia, said, “It’s so important that the Intellectual Property of new weapons technologies resides with Australia so that as well as developing a sovereign capability we can continue our work with Defence, academia, and industry to evolve these technologies over time.”
BAE Systems has been manufacturing weapons in Australia for the Australian Defense Force and exporting them to the US and Canada for more than two decades.
Potential for Export
The company says that once the “sovereignty” to develop such weapons is achieved, Australia could start exporting them to the world.
“Australia’s future investment in high-speed weapons systems, including hypersonic long-range strike and hypersonic and ballistic missile defense, provides the opportunity for the nation to create an enduring sovereign capability and position the country as a major global contributor in this disruptive technology field,” Yelland said.
The company is not only developing the country’s capabilities in hypersonic and high-speed weapons systems but also working on the nation’s defensive capabilities against such systems.