A small check for $830 million. This Monday, Australia announced a major arms order from the United States with the purchase of 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Americans.
The Australian government has embarked on a major military overhaul, giving itself long-range strike capabilities in a bid to counter China’s growing military power.
“Keeping Australians Safe”
The Tomahawk missiles, with a range of over a thousand kilometres, will be carried by the Australian Navy’s Hobart-class destroyers. They are also intended to be used by nuclear submarines acquired by Australia under the AUKUS military pact, signed between Canberra, London and Washington. “We are investing in the capabilities our defense force needs to keep our adversaries at bay away from our shores and keep Australians safe in the complex and uncertain world we live in today,” the official said in a statement. Defense Minister Richard Marles.
Canberra said in January that it had also accepted an offer from the United States to supply HIMARS rockets, the mobile artillery system used in particular by the Ukrainian army.
Washington recently announced it would help Australia build its own missile manufacturing industry, in a bid to shorten war-disrupted supply chains in Ukraine.