Scott Morrison shoulders arms to China in 10-year $270bn plan (Australia)

The Australian ^ | 1st July 2020 | Simon Benson

[naturalman1975]

Australia will roll out an anti-ballistic missile defence shield for deployed forces for the first time, as well as land, sea and air-based long-range and hypersonic strike missiles, to project military power to the region and defend against potential “adversaries”.

In the most significant shift in the nation’s military posture in decades, Scott Morrison on Wednesday will announce a $270bn 10-year defence plan including “lethal” naval and air warfare capability as well as the first land-based long-range missile defence systems.

It will include the development with the US of a missile defence shield against ballistic missile attack as well as potential long-range missile technology of up to several thousand kilometres to protect shipping lanes across the region.

Anti-submarine warfare, space-based intelligence and battlefield capability and underwater surveillance technology will also be developed.

The plan calls for advanced air-warfare capacity, combat drones, long-range naval missile strike ability, and “sovereign”-owned military satellites with ground-based signals intelligence facilities.

The dramatic escalation in Australia’s missile defence and deterrence capability will take annual defence spending beyond the 2 per cent of GDP committed to in 2013, and comes as the Prime Minister warns of the deterioration in the strategic situation in the Indo-Pacific since the 2016 defence white paper.

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[rlmorel]

“Potential adversaries”...”Potential adversaries”...

Vietnam and the Philippines should be thinking along these same lines...

[marktwain]

Australia had universal military service from 1911 to 1929, 1939-64 (three months training), 1964-1972, by lottery. National service ended in 1972.

I would like to see Australia follow the Swiss model, with every Australian a trained member of the national force, with weapons kept at home.