Hypersonic test vehicle flies in Australia

The May 7 flight, seen as a step toward building next-generation air vehicles that could dramatically reduce inter-continental travel times, was the first of up to ten planned flight experiments to be conducted at Woomera, the Australian Department of Defense said on its website. The flights are part of a joint research program between the Australian Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO) and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. "This trial has successfully tested the flight and mission control systems that will be used in future experiments," said Minister for Defense Science and Personnel Warren Snowdon in a statement released Friday; Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.chinaview.cn for full version