CANBERRA, Australia, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- The Australian government has approved four major defense capability projects covering vehicle, missile, air defense and satellite platforms.
The projects are:
-- The acquisition of over 950 new four-wheel drive vehicles as well as trailers and associated equipment for training purposes;
-- The upgrade of the Navy's long-range Standard Missile-2 air defense missiles for future use by Air Warfare Destroyers;
-- Funding for a collaborative international study into the upgrade of the air defense Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile fitted to ANZAC Class frigates and Air Warfare Destroyers;
-- An enhanced military satellite capability, including transportable land satellite communications terminals and upgrades for satellite communications on Navy platforms.
These approvals are estimated to involve expenditure of around $550 million. When complete, the projects are estimated to involve expenditure of around $3.2 billion.
The announcement of the project approvals was made by Minister for Defense Stephen Smith and Minister for Defense Materiel Jason Clare.
