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Australia unveils record $37 billion defense budget

Nuclear-powered submarines are starting to consume an enormous portion of the budget as the trilateral AUKUS agreement progresses.

Defense NewsGordon Arthur2024-05-15T14:19查看原文 ↗

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Australia will spend a record AU$55.7 billion (U.S. $36.8 billion) on defense during the next fiscal year, according to budget documents unveiled May 14.

The figure equates to 2.02% of gross domestic product and represents a 6.3% increase from last year.

Australia’s national defense strategy released last month, promised a significant increase in spending, but that does not start until 2027-2028, when defense expenditure is slated to reach about AU$67.4 billion.

Beyond that, the government still has a ways to go to hit its defense spending goal of AU$100 billion by 2033-2034, which would be 2.3% of GDP.

In this latest budget release for the 2024-2025 time frame, the government has set aside AU$16.7 billion for equipment acquisitions in the coming fiscal year, plus another AU$17.2 billion to sustain existing assets.

The Navy receives a significant allocation of AU$10.7 billion. Nuclear-powered submarines are starting to consume an enormous portion of the budget as the trilateral AUKUS agreement progresses .

Notably, spending on nuclear submarines will snowball from last year’s AU$475 million to AU$2.8 billion in the coming year, eventually reaching AU$4.97 billion in 2027-2028.

By comparison, six Hunter-class frigates and six Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels are to receive AU$813 million and AU$587 million, respectively.

The budget makes no reference to 11 new general-purpose frigates, which the government is expected to select next year.

The Army is promised AU$11.8 billion as it procures expensive assets such as Boxer armored vehicles, Redback infantry fighting vehicles, Huntsman self-propelled howitzers, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, M1A2 Abrams tanks, National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, and UH-60M Black Hawk and AH-64E Apache helicopters.

The Air Force will receive AU$9.5 billion, with F-35A fighter jets being its single-most expensive acquisition; nine of 72 fighters remain undelivered.

Budget figures also revealed that the arrival of four MC-55A Peregrine electronic warfare aircraft is running two years behind schedule.

The Australian Signals Directorate, which conducts foreign signals intelligence, cybersecurity and offensive cyber operations , will receive AU$2.7 billion. A further AU$1 billion is allocated to defense intelligence.

Australian military procurements are handled by the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group. The government in 2021 formed the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance enterprise to promote the sovereign production of missiles and munitions. Together, they will receive AU$1.3 billion in the next fiscal year.

For its part, Ukraine garnered AU$144.3 million in military aid for the year ahead, as it continues its fight against a Russian invasion .

Meanwhile, the Defence Department wants 63,597 uniformed personnel and 19,127 civilian employees in the year ahead. The Australian Defence Force, or ADF, is currently made up of about 58,600 uniformed personnel. The department is made up of about 18,000 civilian employees.

“[The Department of] Defence is forecasting to be below the required ADF fulltime workforce for 2024-25 due to high separation rates and lower than expected achievement of recruitment targets over recent years,” the budget document stated.

The new budget also noted that last year’s spending on personnel costs surpassed estimates by AU$1 billion because of increased living costs. About AU$16.7 billion is to be spent on the workforce this coming fiscal year.

Approximately AU$6.6 billion will go toward maintaining the security and condition of Defence Department property. Before the budget was announced, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy promised between AU$14 billion and AU$18 billion would go to upgrading and hardening military bases in northern Australia over the next decade.

“The Northern Territory is critical to the defense of the nation, not just in defending Australia, but projecting power out into our region against any potential adversary,” Conroy said.

The 2024 National Defence Strategy, released last month, cited “increasing strategic competition” between China and Australian ally the United States, adding that the former seeks “to change the current regional balance in its favor.”

“China has employed coercive tactics in pursuit of its strategic objectives, including forceful handling of territorial disputes and unsafe intercepts of vessels and aircraft operating in international waters and airspace,” the document stated.

Jennifer Parker, an expert associate at the Australian National University, warned that despite promised increases in defense spending, there is “a significant gap in ADF capability over the next 10, maybe 15 years. This gap coincides with the most strategically unstable geopolitical situation since [World War II].”

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——根据5月14日公布的预算文件，澳大利亚将在下一财政年度的国防开支达到创纪录的557亿澳元（368亿美元）。

该数字相当于国内生产总值的 2.02%，比去年增长了 6.3%。

澳大利亚上个月发布的国防战略承诺大幅增加国防开支，但这要到 2027-2028 年才会开始，届时国防开支预计将达到约 674 亿澳元。

除此之外，政府距离实现 2033-2034 年国防开支 1000 亿澳元的目标还有很长的路要走，这将占 GDP 的 2.3%。

在最新公布的 2024-2025 年预算中，政府已拨出 167 亿澳元用于下一财政年度的设备购置，另拨出 172 亿澳元用于维护现有资产。

海军获得了高达107亿澳元的巨额拨款。随着三方奥库斯协议的推进，核动力潜艇开始消耗预算中的很大一部分。

值得注意的是，核潜艇的支出将从去年的 4.75 亿澳元飙升至明年的 28 亿澳元，最终在 2027-2028 年达到 49.7 亿澳元。

相比之下，六艘猎人级护卫舰和六艘阿拉弗拉级近海巡逻舰将分别获得 8.13 亿澳元和 5.87 亿澳元的拨款。

预算中没有提及政府预计明年将选定的 11 艘新型通用护卫舰。

陆军将获得 118 亿澳元的资金，用于采购昂贵的装备，例如“拳击手”装甲车、“红背蜘蛛”步兵战车、“猎人”自行榴弹炮、高机动性火箭炮系统、M1A2“艾布拉姆斯”主战坦克、国家先进地对空导弹系统以及 UH-60M“黑鹰”和 AH-64E“阿帕奇”直升机。

空军将获得 95 亿澳元，其中 F-35A 战斗机是其最昂贵的单笔采购；72 架战斗机中仍有 9 架尚未交付。

预算数据显示，四架MC-55A“游隼”电子战飞机的交付比原计划晚了两年。