Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA
The Australian Department of Defence is re-opening the domestic debate on the acquisition of cruise missiles in a paper looking at the affects of military technology developments on future procurement policy.
A cruise missile option is included in a draft issues paper discussing the implications of a revolution in military affairs on future capabilities to be supported by the Australian Defence Force.
A public version of the paper is to be released by the Australian Defence Minister, John Moore, early next month.
The draft says improved firepower capabilities need close examination by Defence Force planners: "These areas include possible acquisition of cruise missiles, and new means of delivering them. The marginal benefits and costs of acquiring additional strike capability by these means would need to be weighed carefully."
Australia has previously shied from acquiring a strategic cruise missile capability, despite a push within the ADF for a submarine-launched land attack system such as the Raytheon Tomahawk missile.
Australia's most recent public Strategic Policy statement, released in 1997, said Tomahawk-class weapons were considered unnecessary "to meet current strategic circumstances".
The weapon would come on top of the Project Air 5418 competition for stand-off weapons for the Royal Australian Air Force. The competition calls for stand-off weapons with a range of at least 150km. The Missile Technology Control Regime defines a cruise missile as having at least a 350km range and a warhead of 500kg-plus.
The draft revolution in military affairs paper warns that Australia must seriously explore a range of emerging concepts in military technology if it is to sustain a strategic edge within southern Asian.
Source: Flight International