Australia partners US, Japan on composite aircraft materials

Australia is partnering with the US and Japan on composite aircraft materials, which could benefit platforms such as the Lockheed Martin F-35. (Netherlands MoD)

Australia has entered into a trilateral agreement with Japan and the United States to advance the testing and certification of composite aircraft materials.

The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said on 22 April that the Virtual Structural Testing for Composite Aircraft project would focus on assessing how structural damage forms and propagates within composite materials used in modern military aircraft. The project arrangement was signed in March, the DoD added.

Japan's Ministry of Defense said in an X post in March that the three countries had agreed to begin co‑operative research on composite materials used in military aircraft, aiming to secure “technological superiority”.

Under the new agreement, Australia, Japan, and the US will collaborate on producing and exchanging experimental test data, while also assessing modelling results through “specialised software” developed in the US, the DoD added.

The joint effort is intended to enhance the accuracy and reliability of predictive tools used during aircraft development, certification, and sustainment.

Deputy Chief Defence Scientist Carolyn Patteson said the project will support current and emerging air platforms that rely increasingly on composite structures.

“Improved modelling capability is an element of digital engineering that can reduce technical risk, shorten development timelines and inform more rapid certification and sustainment decisions,” she said.

The partnership marks the first project signed under the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Arrangement between Australia, Japan, and the US. The DoD said the project is intended to accelerate joint research on future capability requirements.