Australia invests heavily in purchasing US made Tomahawk missiles
The Australian Ministry of Defense recently announced that it has decided to invest AUD 1.3 billion to purchase over 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States to enhance its navy's long-range strike capabilities.
The long planned transaction between the United States and Australia
Data image: Australian Navy Hobart class destroyer
The Tomahawk missile is currently the primary long-range strike weapon for surface vessels and submarines in the United States Navy. It began service in the 1980s and was first used in combat during the Gulf War in 1991.
According to reports, the batch of Tomahawk missiles purchased by Australia will be deployed on the active Hobart class destroyers of the Australian Navy, as well as on the Virginia class nuclear submarines delivered by the United States to Australia in the future.
Military observer Liang Yongchun believes that this arms sale has been premeditated for a long time, and Australia's purchase of US made Tomahawk missiles is serving as a wedding dress for the United States.
Liang Yongchun:
The latest Hobart class missile destroyer in Australia was designed and finalized under the guidance of the United States. At that time, 48 vertical launch units were designed, leaving space for the installation of Tomahawk cruise missiles.
The Tomahawk missile is a weapon system completely controlled by the United States, which requires a key from the United States to launch. Its flight relies on GPS navigation, and the command system and control software are also completely controlled by the United States. The Australian military equipped with Tomahawk missiles will not become stronger, but will further lose independence and fight for US interests under the command and control of the US military.
The transaction hides America's meticulous calculations
Data image: US warship launches Tomahawk missile
The United States has always been very cautious in exporting Tomahawk missiles. For this arms sale, the Australian side stated that Australia will become the third country, after the United States and the United Kingdom, to possess Tomahawk cruise missiles.
It is worth noting that Japan, as an ally of the United States, had previously planned to purchase approximately 400 Tomahawk missiles from the United States.
Liang Yongchun believes that the trend of integration between Australia, Japan, and the United States in terms of weapons and equipment actually hides the careful calculation of the United States.
Liang Yongchun:
The United States repeatedly demands its allies to purchase weapons of the same system and model as itself, in order to achieve interoperability of main combat equipment.
Japan and Australia are politically controlled by the United States and have the ability to buy American weapons. The United States aims to build Japan as a military support point on the first island chain and Australia as a support point on the second island chain. In this way, the US military can shrink its main force back to Guam and Hawaii, allowing Japan and Australia to act as "agents" to encircle and deter China on the front line.
The negative effects of military cooperation between the United States and Australia will continue to ferment
Recently, the United States and Australia have continuously strengthened their military alliance. Shortly after the end of the joint military exercise led by the United States and Australia, the US, Japan, India, and Australia joint maritime exercise "Malabar 2023" was launched. In addition, the United States has launched multiple military industry cooperation proposals to Australia in order to strengthen the defense relationship between the two sides.
Regarding Australia's massive purchase of the US Tomahawk missile, Liang Yongchun pointed out that this is just a small step in military cooperation between the US and Australia. With the deepening of military cooperation between the US and Australia, Australia will become an important support point for the US to strengthen its control over the Indo Pacific maritime region. In the future, the negative effects of military cooperation between the United States and Australia will continue to emerge.
Liang Yongchun:
The United States is building large-scale naval and air military bases along the northern coast of Australia.The United States will also build large nuclear submarine bases on the east and west coasts of Australia to strengthen its control over the two oceans.
In terms of military sales, in addition to long-range cruise missiles, the United States has also sold new types of ground attack missiles and anti radiation missiles for strike radars to Australia, and plans to move some missile production lines to Australia within two years.
After this series of layouts is completed, Australia will become the "military camp" of the United States, and the Australian military will become the "thugs" of the US military in Indo Pacific, which will put Australia in great danger politically and militarily.
