Australia and the United States will jointly develop hypersonic cruise missiles, Linda Reynolds, the Australian defense minister announced on Tuesday, pledging to invest in “advanced capabilities” that will give the country’s military “more options to deter aggression” against its interests.

The process of developing and working on the missiles capable of flying five times the speed of sound, or up to 6,000 mph, has been accelerated by the regional arms race involving China and Russia, each of them working on hypersonic missile programs of their own.

The interest in air-launched missiles comes after defense strategists warned that a planned 10-year schedule of development is inadequate against potential threats. Tests will begin within months, U.S. and Australian officials said.

The weapons can travel at more than five times the speed of sound and the combination of speed, maneuverability and altitude makes them difficult to track and intercept. Reynolds, the Australian defense minister, called the bilateral project with the US a “game-changing capability”, but did not reveal the cost of developing the missiles or when they would be operational. She further added, “Investing in capabilities that deter actions against Australia also benefits our region, our allies, and our security partners. We remain committed to peace and stability in the region and an open, inclusive, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”

The United States’ Acting Under Secretary of Defense Michael Kratsios said that the project, officially known as the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE), builds on 15 years of collaboration between the US and Australian military. “This initiative will be essential to the future of hypersonic research and development, ensuring that the US and our allies lead the world in the advancement of this transformational war fighting capability,” he said in a statement.

The new weapon will be a Mach 5-class precision strike missile that is propulsion-launched and powered by an air-breathing scram jet engine. It is expected to enter service within the next five to 10 years.

The head of Air Force capability at the RAAF Headquarters in Canberra, Air Vice Marshal Catherine Roberts, said that the weapon will be capable of being carried by tactical fighter aircraft such as the F/A-18F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler and F-35A Lightning II, as well as the P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft.

Testing will take place in Australia, possibly at the Woomera Test Range in the remote outback of South Australia. While no funding details have been released to date, Roberts said that Australia’s recent Force Structure Plan 2020 included between AU$6.2 billion and AU$9.3 billion (U.S. $4.6 billion to U.S. $6.9 billion) for high-speed, long-range strike and missile defense capabilities, of which SCIFiRE is an example.

Though the RAAF is not currently seeking an industry prime to assist with the program, Roberts indicated that discussions with Australian small to medium enterprises will begin on Friday.

Australia’s collaboration with the US on missile development, however, could inflame tensions with China. The relationship between both countries has been tense after Australia discovered what it said were Chinese influence campaigns and has deteriorated further this year after Canberra asked for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 pandemic.

Beijing has introduced a string of economic sanctions on Australian goods, and relations hit a new low on Monday after a senior Chinese official posted a fake image of an Australian soldier holding a blood-covered knife to the throat of an Afghan child.

China has deployed, or is close to deploying, hypersonic systems armed with conventional warheads, according to defense analysts.

Russia has deployed its first hypersonic nuclear-capable missiles last year, while the Pentagon, which tested a similar hypersonic missile in 2017, has a goal of fielding hypersonic war-fighting capabilities in the early to mid-2020s.

The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper said on Tuesday that Australia hopes to begin testing prototypes of the air-launched, long-range missiles within months.

The hypersonic missiles will be designed to be carried by the Australian air force’s existing fleet of aircraft’s including Growlers, Super Hornets, Joint Strike Fighters as well as unmanned aircraft including drones.

The author is a student member of Amity Centre of Happiness