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Australia unveils US$7 billion defence overhaul to more than double size of its naval fleet

  • The move to add 15 major surface combatant ships will leave Australia with the largest fleet it has had since the end of the Second World War
  • Canberra on Tuesday highlighted that not only was it boosting the size of its fleet, it will also bring forward the timeline for delivery

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HMAS Toowoomba (right) of the Royal Australian Navy conducts a replenishment-at-sea exercise in 2014. Australia’s current fleet is the oldest the country’s navy has ever operated. Photo: Australian Department of Defence/Handout via EPA
Agence France-Presse
Australia on Tuesday outlined a decade-long plan to double its fleet of major warships and boost defence spending by an additional US$7 billion, in the face of a quickening Asia-Pacific arms race.
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Under the plan, Australia will get a navy of 26 major surface combatant ships, up from 11 today.

“It is the largest fleet that we will have since the end of the Second World War,” said Defence Minister Richard Marles.

A US warship launches a Tomahawk land-attack missile in 2017. At least some of the new Australian ships will be armed with the missiles, which are capable of carrying out long-range strikes deep inside enemy territory. Photo: US Navy via AP
A US warship launches a Tomahawk land-attack missile in 2017. At least some of the new Australian ships will be armed with the missiles, which are capable of carrying out long-range strikes deep inside enemy territory. Photo: US Navy via AP

Australia will build six Hunter-class frigates, 11 general-purpose frigates and six state-of-the-art surface warships that do not need to be crewed.

At least some of the fleet will be armed with Tomahawk missiles capable of carrying out long-range stand-off strikes on targets deep inside enemy territory – a major deterrent capability.

Marles said on Tuesday that Australia’s government will, in the May budget, bolster funding for the military over the next decade by A$11.1 billion (US$7.3 billion) for a total of A$54 billion. The aim is to provide a larger and more lethal fleet that will complement a planned conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine fleet.

The announcement comes after a massive build-up of firepower by China and Russia, and amid growing confrontation between nervous US-led allies and increasingly bellicose authoritarian governments.
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