extrait
Those missiles, to be equipped Australian warships, combat aircraft and land forces, will be acquired through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system. Among key planned buys, as well as the projected five-year totals, are:
- One project, titled AIR 3023 Phase 1, seeks to acquire a suite of maritime strike weapons to equip RAAF F-35A, Super Hornet and P-8A aircraft “to enable air-delivered strike against well-defended maritime targets in complex and littoral environments.” The missiles are the US LRASM and the Norwegian Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile. The plan is to spend AU$333 million this year, and a projected total of AU$751 million over five years.
- Then there’s another project to equip RAAF F-35A and Super Hornet aircraft with JASSM-ER missiles. The price tag is AU$180 million to be spent in 2023-24, and a projected total of AU$558 million over five years.
- Australia plans to acquire war and training stocks of AIM-9X and AIM-120D air-to-air missiles for F-35A and Super Hornet aircraft. AU$135 million will be spent in 2023-24, and almost AU$1 billion over five years.
- Australia is also planning to acquire additional stocks of small diameter bombs and 500- and 1,000-pound guided bombs. AU$172 million will be spent in 2023-24, and AU$810 million over five years.
Australia’s problem is that it manufactures no PGMs, though it has ambitions to change that. And there is the potential Canberra could be for a long wait: US manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Raytheon are running at full production to restock inventories depleted by the war in Ukraine, for both the US and other allies.
RELATED: In China’s shadow, new Australian defense review focuses on denial, long-range weapons
The Australian Defence Force’s largest single equipment project remains acquisition of a fleet of 72 F-35A aircraft, with the last dozen to be delivered in the next year. Total cost of this long-running project is AU$16.4 billion, with AU$870 million to be spent in 2023-24.