Australia, UK, US Alliance to Develop Hypersonic Missiles

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on a National Security Initiative virtually with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, inside the East Room at the White House in Washington, US, September 15, 2021. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on a National Security Initiative virtually with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, inside the East Room at the White House in Washington, US, September 15, 2021. (Reuters)
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Australia, UK, US Alliance to Develop Hypersonic Missiles

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on a National Security Initiative virtually with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, inside the East Room at the White House in Washington, US, September 15, 2021. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on a National Security Initiative virtually with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, inside the East Room at the White House in Washington, US, September 15, 2021. (Reuters)

The United States, United Kingdom and Australia announced Tuesday they will work together via the recently created security alliance known as AUKUS to develop hypersonic missiles.

The move comes amid growing concern by the US and allies about China’s growing military assertiveness in the Pacific. US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the plan after holding a check-in on the progress of AUKUS, the Indo-Pacific alliance that was launched by the three countries in September.

The leaders said in a joint statement they 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 defense innovation.”

The US, Russia and China have all looked to further develop hypersonic missiles — a system so fast that it cannot be intercepted by any current missile defense system.

In October, Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that China had conducted a test of a hypersonic weapon system as part of its aggressive effort to advance in space and military technologies.

Milley described the Chinese test as a "very significant event of a test of a hypersonic weapon system, and it is very concerning,” in a Bloomberg Television interview.

Russia has used hypersonic missiles “multiple” times in Ukraine, according to the top US commander in Europe.

Last fall, as US intelligence officials had become increasingly concerned about the massing of Russian forces on the Ukraine border, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the country’s arms manufacturers to develop even more advanced hypersonic missiles to maintain the country’s edge in military technologies.

The Russian military has said that its Avangard system is capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound and making sharp maneuvers on its way to a target to dodge the enemy’s missile shield. It has been fitted to the existing Soviet-built intercontinental ballistic missiles instead of older type warheads, and the first unit armed with the Avangard entered duty in December 2019.

The Kinzhal, carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound, according to Russian officials.

The Pentagon’s 2023 budget request already includes $4.7 billion for research and development of hypersonic weapons. It includes planning that would have a hypersonic missile battery fielded by next year, a sea-based missile by 2025 and an air-based cruise missile by 2027.

Biden, Johnson and Morrison have billed the creation of AUKUS as a chance to build greater sharing of defense capabilities. As their first major action, the alliance said it would help equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.

Morrison said the development of hypersonic missiles fit with Australia’s strategic plan released two years ago to enhance its military’s long-range strike capabilities.

“The paramount goal is to ensure we get that capability as soon as we can and it’s in the best form that can be working with our partners,” Morrison told reporters.

Australia’s Defense Minister Peter Dutton had earlier announced plans to spend $2.6 billion to acquire long-range strike missiles for fighter jets and warships years ahead of schedule because of growing threats posed by Russia and China.

A draft security pact between the Solomon Islands and China has prompted concerns about a possible Chinese naval presence 1,200 miles off the northeast Australian coast. The Solomon Islands government said it won’t allow China to build a military base there and China has denied seeking a military foothold in the islands.



Ukraine Set to Sign Minerals Deal, Trump Confirms Zelenskiy Visit

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press conference, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press conference, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 26, 2025. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Set to Sign Minerals Deal, Trump Confirms Zelenskiy Visit

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press conference, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press conference, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 26, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukraine said on Wednesday it was set to approve a framework minerals deal with the United States but that its success would depend on talks with President Donald Trump.

The deal, under which Kyiv would hand some revenue from its mineral resources to a fund jointly controlled by the US, is central to Ukrainian attempts to win strong support from Trump as he seeks a quick end to Russia's war, with US-Russian talks that have so far excluded Kyiv set to continue on Thursday.

Trump confirmed Zelenskiy would visit Washington on Friday although there was no sign that Kyiv had won the security guarantees it has been seeking as part of the deal, cast by Trump as a payment for US aid to Kyiv during the war.

"This agreement could be part of future security guarantees... an agreement is an agreement, but we need to understand the broader vision," Zelenskiy said in Kyiv.

He said the most important thing was the current draft did not cast Ukraine as a debtor that would have to pay back hundreds of billions of dollars for past military assistance.

"This deal could be a great success or it could pass quietly. And the big success depends on our conversation with President Trump."

He said it would be a success if the US becomes a provider of security guarantees for Ukraine, which wants protection from future Russian attacks if a peace deal is reached.

Fighting has continued in Ukraine during the flurry of diplomacy, with Ukraine frequently coming under attack from Russian missiles and drones in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.

QUESTIONS OVER WASHINGTON TRIP

Trump said on Tuesday that Zelenskiy wanted to come to Washington on Friday to sign a "very big deal".

Zelenskiy said both sides were still working on organizing the visit and a White House official on Wednesday raised doubts about whether the visit would go ahead, but Trump later said again that Zelenskiy would visit on Friday.

Trump has been fiercely critical of Zelenskiy as he upended US policy on the war, calling him a "dictator" and ending a campaign to isolate Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12 and a Russian-US meeting took place in Saudi Arabia on February 18.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russian and US diplomats would meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss resolving bilateral disputes that are part of a wider dialogue the sides see as crucial to ending the Ukraine war.

Lavrov again ruled out "any options" for European peacekeepers being sent to Ukraine although Trump has said some form of peacekeeping troops are needed in Ukraine if an agreement to end the conflict is struck.

"Nobody has asked us about this," Lavrov said during a visit to Qatar.

'PRELIMINARY' AGREEMENT

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Washington would commit to supporting Kyiv's efforts to obtain security guarantees under the finalized deal, though the Americans offered no security pledges of their own.

Shmyhal said Ukraine's government would authorize the agreed wording later on Wednesday so that it could be signed. He described it as a "preliminary" agreement.

"After the Ukrainian president and the US president agree on security guarantees, agree on how we tie this preliminary agreement to security guarantees from the United States for our country, in the presence of (both) presidents, a representative of the Ukrainian government will sign this preliminary agreement," he said.

In a comment aimed at calming the fears of worried Ukrainians, Shmyhal said Ukraine would never "sign or consider ... a colonial treaty that did not take into account the interests of the state."

A copy of a draft agreement, seen by Reuters and dated February 25, said: "The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace."

Shmyhal, outlining the agreement in televised comments, said Kyiv would contribute 50% of "all proceeds received from the future monetization of all relevant state-owned natural resource assets and relevant infrastructure."

Those proceeds would go into a fund under the joint control of the United States and Ukraine, he said, adding that no decision about the governance of the fund could be taken without Kyiv's agreement.

"Already existing deposits, facilities, licenses and rents are not subject to discussion when creating this fund," he added.