Australia beefs up its army, inks AU$1 billion deal with S Korea

3 min read | December 14, 2021 03:26 PM AEDT | By Aayush

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Australia beefs up its army, inks AU$1 billion deal with S Korea — Image source: Stavchansky Yakov, Shutterstock.com

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Highlights

Australia has signed a AU$1.01 billion defense deal with South Korea.

Under the defence deal, South Korean company Hanwha will provide artillery weapons, radars and vehicles to the Australian army.

Earlier, Australia has announced to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-designed helicopters from the US for AU$7 billion.

In what is the largest defence pact signed between Australia and any Asian country, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has signed defence pact worth about AU$1 billion with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. South Korea is the country’s fourth-largest trading partner under free trade agreement and the deal will go a long way in strengthening the ties between the two nations.

Under the defence deal, South Korean company Hanwha will provide artillery weapons, radars and vehicles to the Australian army. The deal has been signed at a time when there are heightened tensions mounting between Australia and China. Australia had already confirmed its plans to strengthen its military by announcing nuclear-powered submarines deal with the US and Britain, which was strongly condemned by China.

An armoured military vehicle

Image Source: Pixabay

The new defence equipment will help keep the country safe as they would significantly modernise the Australian army. The new vehicles that Australia has ordered have the prime ability to fire and move swiftly, avoiding enemy counterattacks. According to Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton, “This project will mean a significant increase in the level of firepower and security for Australian artillery capability.”

Australia sems to be on its toes to upgrade its military power. On 10 December 2021, the Australian military announced its plans to ditch its entire fleet of European-designed Taipan helicopters for Black Hawks and Seahawks, manufactured by the US. Australia will buy 40 Lockheed Martin-designed helicopters to switch the existing fleet of Taipan helicopters, for a total of AU$7 billion.

Currently, Australia has a fleet of 47 Taipan helicopters which were designed to last till 2037 but have been plagued with groundings. Scott Morrison said, “The Taipans weren’t meeting their marks. Simple as that, and we want to make sure that our defense forces have the best possible equipment to defend this country, and the Black Hawks will provide that”.

The military also had some concerns regarding the unreliability of Taipan helicopters. Peter Dutton said that there were “nine instances where it’s been unsuitable to fly, and I’m just not going to put our people in that position.”

Australia seems to be on a spree of inking new military deals very soon after it broke its deal with France to buy French submarines, which had deeply angered France.

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