The United States Air Force has stated that Australian testing facilities will be used for testing of HACM, with reported operations now underway at the Woomera Prohibited Area, approximately 450 kilometres north-west of Adelaide. The secretive nature of the testing reflects the sensitivity of hypersonic weapon development in the Indo-Pacific region, where advanced military capabilities carry significant strategic implications.
The Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) is an American-Australian military technology partnership developing a solid-rocket-boosted, air-breathing hypersonic conventionally-armed cruise missile capable of Mach 5 speed and suitable for launching from existing fighter aircraft. Flight testing is expected to occur in the RAAF Woomera Range Complex in South Australia.
Australia's role in this programme extends beyond mere testing. In Australian service, the projectile will become the fastest missile Australia has ever operated, and the first hypersonic missile in the Oceania region. Defence planners view the capability as essential to maintaining deterrence in a region where strategic competition is intensifying. The Australian Government considers the missile to be a potential deterrent to would-be aggressors in the Pacific region.
The choice of Woomera reflects practical military necessity rather than mere convenience. Expansive ranges needed to test hypersonic weapons are in limited supply and high demand in the US, and the Australian outback offers better security. Most US hypersonic flight testing occurs over the Pacific Ocean, meaning test vehicles crash into the ocean and cannot be recovered. Australians have a facility allowing tests to land on desert floor where vehicles can be retrieved.
This testing forms part of a broader acceleration of hypersonic development under AUKUS, the trilateral defence partnership. The Hypersonic Flight Test and Experimentation (HyFliTE) project will see up to six trilateral flight test campaigns by 2028, backed by funding of 252 million dollars. The effort reflects genuine strategic concerns about technological gaps with potential adversaries. China tested a missile that travelled at more than 15,000 miles per hour – roughly 20 times the speed of sound, according to recent assessments.
Australia's involvement sits at an intersection of practical capability and strategic choice. The nation gains access to cutting-edge technology development while providing critical infrastructure that advances allied interests. Whether testing continues as reported, the foundation has been laid for Australia to operate advanced hypersonic weapons as an independent capability within the next decade. The United States hopes to have the missile in operational capacity by fiscal year 2027, with Australian integration planned to follow.