Australia to Buy $4.7 Billion of US Missiles to Strengthen Defense – BNN Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Australia will buy A$7 billion ($4.7 billion) of U.S. missiles to boost its long-range strike capabilities, and Defense Industry Secretary Pat Conroy warned of the region’s “greatest arms race” since 1945 .

Conroy announced the purchase of the Standard Missile Block IIIC and Standard Missile-6 during a visit to Washington on Monday, calling them in a statement “the most advanced air and missile defense weapons in the world.”

The missiles will be deployed on the Navy’s Hobart-class destroyers in the near future, followed by new Hunter-class frigates once they are delivered at a later date, according to the government.

Conroy said the world was “living in the age of rockets” in an interview with the Australian Financial Review during a visit to Washington.

“I have made it clear that the best way to avoid conflict is to deter any potential adversary, and this investment is part of that,” he said.

Australia has been changing its military posture since the election of a centre-left Labor government in May 2022, shifting towards a strategy of limiting territorial capabilities. The adjustment to the military posture and increase in missile capabilities comes amid intensifying great power competition in the Indo-Pacific region between the United States and China.

In August, Conroy announced that Australia would partner with Kongsberg Gruppen ASA to produce long-range missiles in Newcastle, north of Sydney. Earlier in 2024, the government unveiled plans to produce missiles domestically with Lockheed Martin.

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