Australia plans to arm Super Hornets with HACM

The US Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile has been integrated into the joint US-Australia SCIFiRE programme and will be test launched over Australia ranges, including Woomera. (Raytheon)

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is preparing to arm its Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets with the US Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) for a series of tests in the country. Australia's involvement in the project could also expand to integrating HACM all-up rounds (AURs) into the aircraft, according to the Department of Defence (DoD) in Canberra.

HACM is a tactical hypersonic weapon being designed by the United States for long-range operations. Designed for launch from fighter and bomber aircraft, it is intended to strike high-value targets in contested environments, according to the US Air Force (USAF). The missile is also intended to be integrated with US-Australian efforts to develop hypersonic missile technology through their joint Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) programme.

HACM's inclusion in SCIFiRE not only supports flight-testing but also further development of the missile, a DoD spokesperson told Janes on 22 July. “Through the SCIFiRE agreement, the US and Australia continue to collaborate on HACM design and development, including efforts to integrate HACM on RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornets, and using Australian test infrastructure for flight tests,” the spokesperson said.

The RAAF's F/A-18F's involvement in HACM test launches was disclosed in a June 2024 report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). Janes assesses that the testing will be carried out in Australia due to “test range availability and limitations … for hypersonic programmes” in the US, according to the GAO report.

The GAO report adds that HACM's integration with SCIFiRE would “alleviate this issue”.