Surface combatants and submarines of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will be potently sharpened with a range of new weaponry such as long-range anti-ship missiles, as Canberra seriously considers the regional threat environment.
Defence Minister Linda Reynolds announced on 25 January that A$1 billion ($770 million) will be spent on ‘leading-edge long-range anti-ship missiles [AShM], extended-range surface-to-air missiles [SAM], advanced lightweight torpedoes and maritime land strike capabilities’.
Reynolds stated that the new AShMs and SAMs would reach a range in excess of 370km, while land attack cruise missiles (LACM) would have a 1,500km range ‘to project and maintain sea control’.
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