Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA
Australia's 1999 defence budget gives the go-ahead for the purchase of warstock quantities of advanced short range and medium range air to air missiles (ASRAAMs and AMRAAMs) for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
The budget also gives long-awaited funding approval for the Australian Army's armed reconnaissance helicopter project, and increases the available money for the development of an instrumented air-combat manoeuvring range in Northern Australia .
Plans to equip the RAN's Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk helicopters with anti-ship missiles and dipping sonar and the acquisition of additional Kaman SH-2G(A) Super Sea Sprites have been deferred by at least a year. A proposed follow-on purchase of Bofors RBS-70 missiles and additional launchers for the Army has also been deferred.
Funding for the air-to-air missiles follows the signing of contracts with Matra BAe Dynamics for the ASRAAM and the US Navy for a Foreign Military Sale of Raytheon AMRAAMs last year. The deals support integration of the missiles on the RAAF's Boeing F/A-18 Hornets, training and initial warstocks from 2001. Further purchases, worth A$200 million ($105.2 million), are expected for missiles to be delivered from 2002-3 onwards. Funding has also been received for the AGM-142Estand-off air-to-surface missile.
Budget papers reveal that the Australian Army is to carry out a life extension of its Rapier missile batteries, to allow the ageing weapons to remain in service until a new medium-capability surface-to-air defence system enters service after 2005. Plans call for a tender later this year. Just over A$2 million is allocated in 2000-1 to maintain the Rapier and RBS-70 systems.
Total planned expenditure for the purchase of Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles has been set at A$296 million, with the first test firings from RAN warships planned for mid-2000.
Major contracts are expected later this year, with the selection of preferred tenders for the RAAF's Project Air 5077 Airborne Early Warning and Control and Project Air 5190 Light Tactical Airlifter requirements.
Air 5190, being contested by Lockheed Martin, with the C-27J, and CASA, with the CN235 and CN295, was considered by the Australian Defence Source Selection Board on 12 May.
Source: Flight International
