Hypersonic and counter-hypersonic weapons are crucial to Australia's defence with a Chinese missile able to strike Australia in under 15 minutes, according to the deputy prime minister.
The United Kingdom, the United States and Australia have agreed to co-operate on hypersonic weapons under the trilateral AUKUS alliance.
Barnaby Joyce said the country needs to build its defences as quickly as possible to counter an increasingly aggressive China, with hypersonic weapons creating an "existential threat" for Australia.
"They can change path, which makes them very hard to detect and even harder to hit," Mr Joyce told Sky News on Wednesday.
"This gives an existential threat to Australia.
"(In) probably about 14 minutes after they launched they would be able to reach here ... so we have to make sure that we are right at the top of our game."
"This shows the strength of AUKUS and also gives big clear flashing lights that we have to become as strong as possible, as quickly as possible."
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg denied Australia was playing catch-up on defence, with China and Russia already having developed hypersonic weapons.
"These are the latest and high-tech missiles that we're talking about. It's not like they've been in operation for a decade or so," he told the Nine network.
The missiles are able to travel 2,000 kilometres and five times the speed of sound.
But Mr Frydenberg was unable to put a timeframe on the missiles, saying they would arrive "as soon as is practical".
"But the key point is we're getting in with the US and the UK, two very significant military partners for Australia."
A less stable region has prompted the need for increased defence spending with autocratic countries like Russia ignoring the international rules-based order in place since the end of World War Two, Mr Frydenberg said.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Source: AAP
"Also accessibility to these hypersonic missiles ... (will) help secure Australia in a pretty uncertain international environment."
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is working to expedite hypersonic weapons systems as America races to keep up with China and Russia.
In a joint statement, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden committed to expanding information sharing and deepening co-operation on defence innovation, including hypersonics and counter-hypersonics capabilities.
The US and Australia already have a hypersonic weapon program called SCIFiRE (Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment).
Asked about the hypersonic cooperation under AUKUS, China's United Nations ambassador Zhang Jun warned against measures that could fuel conflict.
"Anyone who does not want to see the Ukrainian crisis should refrain from doing things which may lead the other parts of the world into a crisis like this," Mr Zhang said.
"As the Chinese saying goes: 'If you do not like it, do not impose it against the others'."
What are hypersonic missiles?
- Hypersonic missiles can travel at more than five times the speed of sound - or 6,200 kilometres an hour - and reportedly up to eight times the speed of sound.
- Current missiles have a range of around 2,000 kilometres.
- Hypersonic weapons are highly manoeuvrable and can fly under radar, making them hard to detect and almost impossible to intercept.
- The US confirmed China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic weapon last year and Russia used a hypersonic missile a fortnight ago in Ukraine.
- The US is developing long-range hypersonic missiles that can strike targets in excess of 2,775 kilometres away and will reportedly be capable of speeds of 17 Mach - or almost 21,000km/h.
