Australian Government fast tracks naval missile and mine acquisition

The Australian Government has approved the accelerated acquisition of improved weapon capabilities for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) at a total cost of $3.5 billion.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton announced that defence will accelerate the acquisition of the naval strike missile (NSM) for the Royal Australian Navy’s surface fleet and maritime mines to secure Australia’s ports and maritime approaches, as well as missiles for the air force.

“With Australia’s strategic environment becoming more complex and challenging, our ADF must be able to hold potential adversary forces and infrastructure at risk from a greater distance,” Minister Dutton said.

“These world-class strike weapon systems will equip our forces to better protect Australia’s maritime approaches and when necessary, contribute to coalition operations in our region.”

Acquisition of the Kongsberg NSM to replace the Harpoon anti-ship missile in the ANZAC-class frigates and Hobart-class destroyers more than doubles the current maritime strike range of Australia’s frigates and destroyers. The NSM capability will be installed in 2024.