Pentagon eyes missile testing role for Australia
The Hindu
Australia could be a testing ground for U.S. hypersonic and other long-range precision weapons under the AUKUS pact
Australia could be a testing ground for U.S. hypersonic and other long-range precision weapons under the AUKUS pact, a top Pentagon official told AFP on August 9.
U.S. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said Australia's contribution to the three-way AUKUS agreement, which includes Britain, "doesn't always have to be dollars".
The pact was signed in late 2021 and is seen as a way of countering China's growing clout in the Asia-Pacific region.
Work under AUKUS has so far focused on supplying Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, a fleet capable of travelling stealthily over vast distances and striking foes at long range.
But the pact is increasingly focused on developing advanced capabilities such as long-range precision firing, artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons.
Ms. Wormuth said Australia could be a proving ground for these weapons.
"One thing Australia has in spades is long distances and relatively unpopulated land," she told AFP in a telephone interview from Washington.
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