CANBERRA, Feb 20 (NNN-AAP) – The Australian government has committed to more than doubling the size of the nation’s naval warships.
Richard Marles, minister for defence and deputy prime minister, and Defence Industry Minister, Pat Conroy, today announced the major overhaul.
Under the plan, Australia’s fleet of combat-ready warships will be expanded from the current 11 to 26.
The government will spend an additional 11.1 billion Australian dollars (7.2 billion U.S. dollars) over the next decade, to accelerate the delivery of the future fleet, which Marles and Conroy said, will be Australia’s largest since the end of World War II.
The plan in total will boost the country’s defence spending in the early 2030s to 2.4 percent of GDP, compared to the 2.1 percent it was planned to be, when the government came to office, said reports.– NNN-AAP
