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Australia to Bolster Defense
SYDNEY -- The Australian government unveiled a major overhaul of its defense strategy and said it plans to continue to increase spending over the next two decades, with investment to focus on boosting naval and air capability.

In a policy paper released Saturday, the government said that the U.S. remains crucial to its defense strategy but that other major powers are emerging, namely China and India. The paper assumes that in coming decades, the most common form of conflicts in which Australia's defense forces will be involved will be those within a single country, like its current involvement in Afghanistan.

The paper reaffirms the government priority of defending Australia with a series of the equipment purchases over the next 20 years.

A centerpiece of the new strategy is the purchase of 12 new submarines, which Mr. Rudd said would be Australia's largest-ever single defense project. The submarines will be capable of sea warfare, strategic strikes, intelligence collection and support for special-operations forces.

The government also plans new air-warfare destroyers and a new class of frigates.
Their own design, Brit, or American?
For its air force, Australia will buy around 100 joint-strike fighters, plus aircraft and maritime surveillance and response aircraft.
Again, American or Euro?
Despite a sharp deterioration in its budget with the onset of the global economic crisis, the government said spending on defense will increase by 3% every year, after accounting for inflation, until the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. After that, it expects defense spending to grow at an annual rate of 2.2%. The government didn't say how much it will spend, but it currently spends around 18 billion Australian dollars (US$13.14 billion) on its annual defense budget, excluding money spent on major new equipment. It said it hopes changes in the defense sector will help create savings as much as A$20 billion to help fund its plans.

"Some have argued that in the global economic recession, we should reduce defense spending to ease the pressure on the budget," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said. "But the government believes the opposite to be true. In a period of global instability, Australia must invest in a strong, capable and well-resourced defense force."
Mr. Rudd may be a leftie but apparently he understands the neighborhood he lives in ...

Posted by: Steve White 2009-05-04
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=269016