Australia plans to more than double the size of its navy’s surface combatant fleet and inject additional funding, while scaling back the number of BAE Systems Hunter-class frigates acquired as part of a major revamp of the nation’s military capabilities.
The Australian government will bolster funding for the military in its May budget by 11.1 billion Australian dollars ($7.3 billion) over the next decade for a total of AU$54 billion, defense chief Richard Marles said Tuesday. The aim of this is to provide a larger and more lethal fleet that will complement a planned conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine fleet.
Under the plans released at a base in Sydney, the navy will have 26 warships by the mid-to-late 2040s from the current 11. These will be composed of: