Australia will invest billions of dollars to establish anti-drone defence systems as the wars in Iran and Ukraine underscore the potency of unmanned vehicles in a rapidly evolving global security environment.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy announced two contracts today in the first tranche of that effort: one is with Melbourne-based Sypaq for small interceptors, and the other with AIM for a laser weapon to shoot down aerial-attack drones. The contracts totalled $30 million, with the government ultimately planning to outlay up to $7 billion on these and similar weapons.
The investment reflects the changing nature of warfare demonstrated first in Ukraine and then in Iran where drones have emerged as potent new attack weapons that are expensive to combat. The US and others have been using multimillion-dollar missiles to shoot down drones that cost Iran just thousands of dollars to make and deploy.
The new anti-drone weaponry is part of Australia’s biggest peacetime increase in defence spending, which will see an extra $53 billion invested over the next decade. This includes new frigates for the navy, a new air-defence system, long-range strike weapons, as well as increasing use of unmanned weapons in the air and at sea.
Australia aims to improve its deterrence capabilities via drones and missiles to complement a planned fleet of nuclear-powered submarines due to be delivered in the 2030s under the AUKUS deal with the US and Britain. Last year, the government announced it would be spending billions of dollars to develop the “Ghost Shark” unmanned submarine, with the first units expected to enter service this year.
Bloomberg
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