Australia buys US missile system used by Ukraine
The Australian Defence Force is buying a US-made missile system being used by Ukrainian forces against Russian troops.
A HIMARS launcher. Photo: AP/Roman Koksarov
The truck-mounted High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers have been successfully deployed by the Ukrainian military over recent months.
The rocket system has a range of 300km, which is expected to increase to more than 500km as technology advances.
Cabinet minister Murray Watt says the increased range of the 20 rocket systems will be a significant boost to Australia’s capabilities with the army’s missile launchers currently only able to hit targets 40km to 50km away.
“One of the really key benefits of this is not just the mobility of these vehicles and these forces, but the range that those missiles can be fired,” he said.
“We really want to make sure that our defence forces have the best equipment to keep Australian people safe.”
The total package is set to cost taxpayers $1 billion.
The defence force is moving to a new “impactful projection” doctrine, where it is gearing up to be able to strike and deter enemies in the region at much greater distances.
The Australian Strategic Police Institute’s Peter Jennings says the long-range rockets could even extend beyond the 500km range, with actual capabilities often being more advanced than what’s publicly advertised.
“The point about these weapons is that we can send them pretty much anywhere,” he said.
“They’re very, very portable. Anywhere you can fly an aircraft you can have one of these things operating very quickly.
“What we’ve seen in Ukraine is that they are incredibly accurate and that they can be moved quickly.”
He said the military needs to be developing and acquiring long-range capabilities that extend deep into the Pacific.
“For Australia, given our geography, the longer the range, the better,” he said.
Jennings said Australia may only have 24 months to prepare for a conflict with China, with heightened tensions predicted to peak in the middle of the decade.
But he added that the military is playing catch-up and is where it should have been five years ago.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said the defence force must be equipped with high-end military capabilities.
“The naval strike missile and (rocket) launchers will give our defence force the ability to deter conflict and protect our interests,” he said.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the new systems were at the cutting edge of modern military technology.
-with AAP
