US State Dept okays potential $975m sale of HIMARS to Australia: Pentagon
Business
Washington had earlier announced helping Canberra manufacture guided missiles and rockets
WASHINGTON (Agencies) – The US State Department has approved a possible sale to Australia of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) for $975 million, the Pentagon said.
According to a statement issued by the Pentagon, the principal contractors will be Lockheed Martin, L3Harris, Leonardo DRS, and Oshkosh.
The move comes after the two allies announced last month that the United States will helping Australia manufacture guided missiles and rockets for both countries within two years, as they ramped up defence cooperation to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
The new cooperation on guided weapon production follows a trilateral partnership announcement in March that will see Britain provide Australia with a fleet of eight submarines powered by US nuclear technology.
The greater integration of US and Australian militaries was announced in July after annual talks between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their Australian counterparts, Defense Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
They had agreed to cooperate on Australia producing Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems by 2025, a communique said.
US companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin only established an Australian enterprise to build such weapons last year.
That followed the drain on Western countries’ munitions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Austin said the move on missiles would strengthen the two allies’ defence industrial base and technological edge.
“We’re racing to accelerate Australia’s priority access to munitions through a streamlined acquisition process,” Austin had told reporters in Brisbane, Australia.
The two governments also agreed to upgrade joint military facilities in Australia and to increase U.S. nuclear submarine visits as the United States increases its focus on the South Pacific.
The region came to the forefront of the US competition with China for influence last year, when Beijing signed a security pact with Solomon Islands and raised the prospect of a Chinese naval base being established there.
