Queensland central to Australian hypersonic research

DSTG researchers recently were chosen to support the joint US-Australia SCIFiRE hypersonics program with the US Air Force Research Laboratory.

The 3D-printed hypersonic DART is powered by hydrogen-fuelled SCRAMJET.

In 2002 The University of Queensland (UQ) developed and launched the world’s first hypersonic flight to test scramjet propulsion technology, successfully achieving scramjet combustion in a flight above Mach 7.5.

Since then, research bodies and individual companies around Australia, in partnership with the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) and with support such as from the Queensland government, have helped develop and market groundbreaking individual capabilities to support the evolution of hypersonic technologies.

These range from hypersonic wind-tunnel testing through to work at UQ’s Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing which is focused on testing materials that can withstand the extremely high temperatures generated during flight at hypersonic speeds.

Recently, DSTG researchers at the Australian Hypersonics Research Precinct at Eagle Farm in Brisbane, were chosen to support the joint US-Australia SCIFiRE hypersonics program with the US Air Force Research Laboratory.

Neil Hart.

The centre is now working closely with Brisbane company Hypersonix Launch Systems, which received an $8m federal government grant to develop a hypersonic aircraft and engine, the three-metre long DART AE.

The DART AE is 3D-printed using high-temperature ceramic-matrix composites and has an oxygen-breathing, hydrogen-fuelled supersonic combustion ramjet (SCRAMJET). Last year, it was selected by the Pentagon’s Defence Innovation Unit as the test vehicle for its Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities (HyCAT) program.

Queensland’s Aerospace 10-year roadmap and action plan is actively promoting Queensland’s research ecosystem and its capability as a leading partner for hypersonic innovation.

The state has long been recognised as a collaborative research powerhouse in areas such as advanced hypersonics, rockets and vehicle applications, scramjet technology, as well as for advanced materials processing and manufacturing.

The race is on for superpowers and their allies to develop the next generation of weapons with hypersonic capabilities focusing on speed, manoeuvrability and flight paths, and counter-hypersonic measures to better protect strategic assets from attacks. In this context, the 2023 AUKUS Pillar 2 agreement views collaboration as essential to accelerating hypersonic and counter-hypersonic advanced capabilities, opening opportunities for Australian technologies and systems with our AUKUS partners.

Over several decades Australia has demonstrated to the world its ability to develop highly innovative technologies and is well positioned to develop, test, assemble and commercialise hypersonic systems which can compete for global missions whether for defence, space or aerospace.

Developing a hypersonic system requires a national effort to knit together the collective achievements to ensure Australia builds on its established research and technology base. The Queensland-based Australian Program Office for Advanced Hypersonics aims to do that by better connecting researchers, industry and end users.

It is an exciting time for Queensland and national researchers to take their hypersonic flight capabilities to the next level and work with new and existing partners to develop the future generation of fully functioning systems.

Beyond developing sovereign Defence capability, it is important to also consider how advancements in hypersonic flight could help improve our everyday lives. Potential applications include acceleration of passenger and medical emergency flights, rapid support for search and rescue, and responsive monitoring for environmental, agricultural and disaster management.

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Air Vice-Marshal Neil Hart AM (Ret’d) is the strategic adviser to Queensland for aviation, space and defence.