Canada and Australia to partner on emerging missile defence research

Australia and Canada will collaborate on research into emerging missile threat defence under a new, $521 million bilateral Project Arrangement (PA). The countries’ defence ministers, Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence of Canada, and Richard Marles, have released a joint statement on the agreement.

“As potential adversaries continue to develop more advanced missiles, including advanced cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons that combine high speed, increasing range, and manoeuvrability, new solutions are required to defeat these threats.

Under the PA, Canada and Australia commit to collaborative research and development in support of next generation defensive solutions to defeat these threats.

Under this agreement, Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) and the Australian Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) will collaborate on research to understand emerging missile threats, as well as develop detection, monitoring, targeting and counter-measure technologies.

“This collaboration on integrated air and missile defence research and development is mutually beneficial, contributing directly to our shared objective of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, as identified in Canada’s renewed defence policy, Our North, Strong and Free, in April 2024,” say the partner governments.

“Defence against hypersonic weapons has also been identified as a priority for science and technology under Canada’s NORAD Modernization plan, announced in June 2022. Missile defence has been identified by Australia as a capability investment priority in Australia’s National Defence Strategy and the Integrated Investment Program.”

Through this collaboration, Canada and Australia will benefit from access to expertise, experience, unique facilities and cost-effective joint research trials, which will fast-track understanding of advanced missile technologies and inform next-generation defence solutions, says the statement.

Canada and Australia are each contributing up to CAD$237 million ($260 million) over five years toward the total project arrangement value of CAD$474 million ($521 million in cash and in-kind contributions).

Canada and Australia enjoy a partnership based on shared history, values and friendship. The two countries have a long history of working together on defence science and technology, including through Five Eyes Science and Technology, under the auspices of the Technical Co-operation Program, since 1965.