Australia’s military will help the Pentagon pursue so-called “air-breathing” hypersonic weapons and more under the U.S.-run Allied Prototyping Initiative, the U.S. Defense Department said Nov. 30. The Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) initiative “will be essential to the future of hypersonic research and development, ensuring the U.S. and our allies lead the world in the advancement of this transformational warfighting capability,” Michael Kratsios, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, said in a release. It’s the second partnership created through the prototyping initiative since it launched last year.

NATO leaders will discuss the way ahead in Afghanistan during this week's defense ministerial meeting, but a final decision on whether to stay or leave the country is not expected until February, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Nov. 30. “In the months ahead, we will continue to assess our presence based on conditions on the ground. We face a difficult dilemma. Whether to leave, and risk that Afghanistan becomes once again a safe haven for international terrorists. Or stay, and risk a longer mission, with renewed violence,” Stoltenberg said in advance of this week's ministerial. “Whatever path we choose, it is important that we do so together, in a coordinated and deliberate way.”

As the coalition's footprint in Iraq and Syria “diminishes,” international support for institutional changes, such as building a local judiciary and a military that can sustain itself, is necessary to ensure the Islamic State group does not return, the No. 2 commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve said. United Kingdom Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Copsey, speaking during a virtual Middle East Institute event Nov. 30, said the “international political microscope” needs to stay focused on areas within Iraq and Syria where ISIS remains. The group still operates in rural areas such as the Euphrates River Valley and contested regions near Kurdistan, though it has shifted to “survival mode” and is focusing more on criminal activity. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance is “stepping up, [and] enhancing our presence in Iraq to provide more support.”

Air Force science advisers will meet Dec. 17 to discuss the findings of their recent space research as they close out this year’s deep-dive studies. In 2020, the board considered emerging space technologies, military communications, and autonomous systems behavior. As the year comes to a close, advisers will hear the results of a classified Innovative Space Applications study that could pave the way for unique new Space Force projects. The panel is also preparing to hear the results of a review of the Air Force Research Laboratory's portfolio.