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Australia promises major boost to size of armed forces

10th March 2022 - 03:01 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Christchurch

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The ADF will add approximately 18,500 new uniformed personnel in the coming 18 years. (Gordon Arthur)

Alarmed by increasing strategic competition and belligerent states, Australia has promised to increase the size of its military by nearly a third.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) will undergo its largest expansion since the Vietnam War, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison announcing on 10 March that personnel numbers would rise by approximately 30% over the next couple of decades.

The plan will see ADF staffing rise to almost 80,000 by 2040, a rise of 18,500 uniformed personnel compared to now. This will be the largest Australia’s military has been since the 1970s at the height of the Vietnam War.

These additional personnel are needed to ‘build the resilience we need in critical areas, and enable our people to increase intelligence, information and communications

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Gordon Arthur

Gordon Arthur was the Asia Pacific editor for Shephard Media. Born in Scotland and educated …

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