Australia wants to enter the ‘missile age’. That will cost it US$2.7 billion

Name: Australia unveils biggest defence reform in decades, prioritising long-range missiles
Uploaded: 2023-04-26T03:03:03.000Z
Duration: 1 min 57 s
Description: Australia unveils biggest defence reform in decades, prioritising long-range missiles

About US$1 billion will be spent on buying long-range missiles like the US-made HIMARS, a statement on Wednesday showed

The rest, some US$1.7 billion, will go toward locally producing projectiles and other weaponry – though not until at least mid-2024

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A US high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) is fired as part of a live-fire exercise during joint drills in the Philippines last month. Australia has committed to buying more long-range missiles, including the HIMARS. Photo: AFP

Bloomberg

Published: 11:03am, 26 Apr 2023Updated: 12:00pm, 26 Apr 2023

Australia will outlay A$4.1 billion (US$2.7 billion) to increase its stock of long-range missiles and develop a manufacturing industry for guided weapons in response to intensifying strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.

The government will spend A$1.6 billion to purchase long-range missiles, including additional high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) that Ukraine has successfully deployed against Russia, a statement on Wednesday showed. In addition, it will spend A$2.5 billion to locally produce long-range missiles and other weaponry.

A Defence Strategic Review released in Canberra two days ago urged the government to bring Australia into the “missile age”, with Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy saying at the time that the changes would result in a dramatic widening of the military’s long-range capabilities.

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Australia unveils biggest defence reform in decades, prioritising long-range missiles

“We’ll go from an Australian Army where the maximum range of the weapons is 40km (25 miles) to being able to fire missiles initially over a range of 300km, and with the acquisition of the precision strike missile, ranges in excess of 500km,” Conroy told reporters on Monday.

The strategic review called for sweeping changes to Australia’s defence capabilities, with a focus on missiles and drones that have proved to be key weapons on the modern battlefield.

Australia is strengthening its forces as China undertakes a vast military build-up that will mean the United States is no longer the sole major power in the Indo-Pacific region.

The new programmes are expected to be financed by reallocations of existing defence budget outlays, with no new funding announced ahead of the government’s annual budget due on May 9.