Australia plans to produce long-range guided missiles to strengthen its arsenal and have the capability to counter potential adversaries. This was stated by the Minister of Defence of the country, Pat Conroy. According to him, the country is establishing a national industry for the production of long-range guided missiles and other necessary munitions.
"Why do we need more missiles? The strategic superpower dynamic between the US and China plays a key role in the defense of Australia," Conroy said. He also added that this superpower competition is currently at its peak in their region, in the vicinity of the Indian and Pacific oceans.
It is planned that the production of a "complete package for the production of advanced weaponry" will amount to 200 million dollars and will produce up to 4000 missiles annually. Conroy noted that this is more than a quarter of the total global production of long-range guided missiles and more than 10 times exceeds the current demand from Australian defense forces.
On top of this, Australia has signed a contract with the French defense company Thales for local production of artillery shells, typically used in air defense systems.
