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Australia Defence and Security Report Q1 2008Published by: Business Monitor International Published: Dec. 11, 2007 - 44 Pages Table of Contents
AbstractAustralia’s internal security situation remained stable halfway through 2007. The 2007-08 budget cappedoff a 13-month period that saw the government promise more than US$41bn worth of new defence initiatives over 11 years; around US$16bn in the last budget, US$14bn for this budget, and more than US$11bn in between. As a result, next financial year the defence budget will reach US$22bn. This is an increase of US$2.1bn over the funding for this year, and represents 2% of GDP. Key initiatives in the 2007-08 budget include US$6.1bn over 10 years for 24 Super Hornet F/A-18F aircraft, US$1.8bn for additional logistics and US$1.3bn for C-17 operating costs. Another US$1.3bn in operational supplementation was provided, which will bring the accumulated cost of the Australian Defence Force (ADF)’s commitment to Iraq to US$2bn and Afghanistan to US$1.7bn. Australia’s defence industry has experienced strong growth in recent years, mainly due to the ADF undertaking an ambitious development and upgrade programme. In the fourth quarter of 2006, Australia’s defence industry continued to grow, with the most significant development being the takeover of ADI, Australia’s largest defence firm, by Thales, whose share of ADI will increase from 50% to 100%. In Q407 defence company Tenix will likely be sold by its current family ownership, following a review of its strategic direction. Tenix is owned solely by the Salteri family and is Australia's second largest defence corporation, behind Thales Australia, formerly Australian Defence Industries. The business should sell for about US$1bn, according to industry analysts. The company's annual revenue is about US$1.2bn. Australia’s arms trade patterns remained largely unchanged and the country still imports a range of bigticket items, such as the purchase of the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSMs) from Lockheed Martin’s Alabama plant. The current production rate is 15-17 missiles per month, with 475 of the 779 missiles having been delivered. The decision to purchase the JASSMs was due to the reduction of unit cost if the missiles were purchased from the US. Get Full Details About This Report >> |
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