Bobby. wrote on Oct 18^th, 2024 at 2:47pm:


NOW you're talkin' ....(even if the agreement is superficial, given your understanding of money...... )

How is it paid for? - borrowed money? - printed money?


https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-22/australia-us-medium-long-range-missiles-d...





By North America bureau chief Jade Macmillan in Washington DC

    Topic:Navy

8h ago



Minister Pat Conroy said the missiles would give Australia extended-range air defence capability.


he federal government will spend $7 billion acquiring medium and long-range missiles for the Australian Navy from the United States.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the Standard Missile 2 Block IIIC (SM-2 IIIC) and Standard Missile‑6 (SM-6) were the "most advanced air defence missiles in the world".

"We live in the greatest arms race in our region since 1945, with a high degree of strategic uncertainty," Mr Conroy said during a visit to Washington DC.

"You just have to look at the lessons from the Ukraine conflict to understand the importance of air defence and the ability to defend against missile threats."

The purchase of the missiles had been anticipated for several years, with Australia becoming the first country outside the US to fire an SM-6 during an exercise near Hawaii in August.


Mr Conroy said US congressional approvals had been granted, meaning the sale could proceed and the price tag revealed.

However, he would not provide any detail on when the missiles would be delivered, other than to say they would be "progressively deployed" across the Navy's Hobart-class destroyers.
Standard Missile 2 Block IIIC (SM-2 IIIC):

    Medium-range surface-to-air missile with an active radio frequency seeker
    Range of 166km
    Manufactured by US weapons producer RTX, formerly known as Raytheon

Standard Missile‑6 (SM-6):

    Primarily developed as an extended-range air-defence missile, but can also protect against ballistic missiles or hit a surface target
    Range of 370km
    Manufactured by RTX

They'll also be deployed in the future Hunter-class frigates, which are due to enter service from the early 2030s.

Defence's chief of guided weapons and explosive ordnance, Air Marshal Leon Phillips,
said the $7 billion spend was part of a

What a bunch of effing wankers - giving awards to each other to impress the brain dead masses -

we're living in an insane asylum.

Why the U.S. Military Spends So Much Money
The Pentagon Spent Over $900 Billion Last Year, Here’s How…
The US spends more on its military than any other country in the world.
But where does all the money really go?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-01/one-australian-submarine-is-fully-operati...




Exclusive by defence correspondent Andrew Greene

Topic:Navy

1h ago

In short:
The Australian Navy has been left with just one fully operational submarine as the rest of its aging fleet undergoes urgent repairs or await upgrades.




Australia operates a fleet of six Collins submarines, which have been recently beset by problems including hull corrosion.

What's next?
The Albanese government is yet to comment on the limited availability of Australia's Collins-class submarines.


At present, Australia operates a fleet of six Collins submarines which progressively entered service from 1996 but have been recently beset by problems such as "unprecedented" hull corrosion.

Defence sources have confirmed to the ABC that two of the Collins submarines are currently stationed at Adelaide's Osborne shipyard, where industrial action is causing delays to extensive maintenance known as "full-cycle docking".

Another three of the country's submarines are at Western Australia's Garden Island naval base, but Defence insists at least one of those boats could be put to sea if urgently required.

In a statement, Defence insists it has "more than one boat available" for operations "if required", although the ABC understands at least one of those submarines is yet to receive its certification to return to service.

"Defence continues to meet government-directed levels of operational availability for the Collins-class submarines. Defence has more than one boat available for operations if required," a Defence spokesperson told the ABC.

"Owing to operational security reasons, defence does not confirm precise locations and availabilities of specific platforms," the spokesperson added.

In May, the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) told a parliamentary hearing that half of the Collins fleet would remain out of the water for the rest of the year with unprecedented corrosion problems discovered on two of the aging boats.

We'll make shell and missile and maybe drone factories in Australia.


Oct 30, 2024

The Hon Pat Conroy MP, Minister for Defence Industry Capability Delivery & Minister for International Development and the Pacific Addresses the National Press Club of Australia on "Making Australians Safer: A Reshaping of Defence Strategy in the Missile Age".

IN FULL: The Hon Pat Conroy MP's Address to the National Press Club

1 hour and 8 minutes long




‘Fatuous and ridiculous’: Pat Conroy’s latest National Press Club address slammed





Full Transcript here:
https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/speeches/2024-10-30/address-national-press-c...

Defence personnel are losing faith in their senior leaders, with fewer than a third of soldiers and sailors now rating their commanders as effective, new survey data shows.

The 2024 “workplace experience” poll also reveals that despite years of effort to improve Defence’s culture, 37 per cent of personnel say they have experienced “unacceptable behaviour” in the past 12 months, including sexual misconduct and bullying.

The findings come as Defence faces a workforce crisis that has forced the government to spend $1bn on bonuses to stop its people leaving, and ask Pacific countries to allow their citizens to serve under the Australian flag.

The survey found just 29 per cent of army and 32 per cent of navy personnel felt their senior leaders were effective, down from 34 per cent and 42 per cent just three years ago.

Air force personnel were more satisfied with their higher-ups, with 37 per cent having a positive opinion of their commanders – a four-point drop since 2021.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/defence-chiefs-fail-the-leadership-test-as-troop-morale-plunges-further/news-story/a4a291dcad093077f12ed26669c4b756