Australia raises defense spending to accelerate military initiatives
Reuters
Australia will hike defense spending by $628 million to boost the nation’s military capabilities, including manufacture of guided weapons, construction of a submarine base and expansion of a frigate program, Defence Minister Richard Marles said in March 2025.
Marles has proposed a $6.66 billion rise in defense spending over the next four years, part of a previously announced $31 billion increase over a decade, which he said was the most significant defense hike since World War II.
VIDEO CREDIT: AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE DEPARTMENT/REUTERS
The $628 million is being brought forward “because of the need to accelerate Australia’s capability and development,” Marles said at the Avalon Australian International Airshow in Victoria.
“This will see us have ready [Royal Australian Navy base] HMAS Stirling, the Henderson Defence Precinct for the establishment of the Submarine Rotational Force West. This will see us move forward at a faster pace in establishing the Guided Weapons and Explosives Enterprise,” he said.
Starting in 2027, one United Kingdom and up to four United States nuclear-powered submarines will rotate through HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, the nation’s biggest naval base, under the allies’ trilateral security partnership, known as AUKUS.
The earlier spending will also accelerate adding a frigate to Australia’s fleet this decade, Marles said.
In late March 2025, Australia said it had received the first two of 42 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launcher vehicles from U.S.-based manufacturer Lockheed Martin, while the manufacture of guided multiple launch rocket systems is set to begin in Australia in 2025.
Australia wants to acquire long-range strike capabilities and the U.S.-designed HIMARS gives its defense force mobility to project into the region, Marles said. The truck-mounted system can be transported by ship or by the Royal Australian Air Force’s C-17 and C-130 aircraft, “so they are easily deployable across the region” for coastal operations, Brig. Nick Wilson said.
Australia also will take delivery in 2025 of the Precision Strike Missile, with a range of 500 kilometers, for use in HIMARS, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said.
Other Indo-Pacific forces also are bolstering their arsenals. Taiwan, for instance, announced in March 2025 that its defense budget will exceed 3% of gross domestic product, up from 2.45%, The Associated Press reported. The U.S. provides much of the self-governed island’s defense equipment.
