Defence procurement bungles and wins

[DJC]

I've copied this from the China thread:

As for the anti-nuclear sub protestors, I've no interest in the anti-nuclear parrots. In any case, the tell that the deal was done happened straight after the election, when labour announced the purchase of missiles that are useless when housed on a conventional platform. If the platform cannot loiter indefinitely the missiles are worthless, so it's a huge tell the deal will proceed.

The ADF has selected the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS)  as its long-range, rocket artillery system.  This was initially proposed in the 2016 White Paper and was confirmed by the 2020 Defence Strategic Update and Force Structure Plan.  Essentially a commitment of the previous Government but Labor has undertaken to honor defence procurement commitments (as well as adding its own).

HIMARS is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army, mounted on a standard Army M1140 truck frame.  As the name suggests, it is a highly mobile system that is able to "shoot and scoot", thereby evading counter battery fire.  In addition to a range of warheads, HIMARS is capable of firing the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM). Australia has an MoU  with the US for the development of the PrSM weapon.

HIMARS is a state of the art weapon system that will address a serious gap in our defence capability.  It is perfectly suited to our conditions and will integrate seamlessly with current and future defence materiel.

HIMARS, and the older MRLS, are tipped to give Ukraine an edge in its artillery duels with Russian forces.  Russian missile launchers have a shorter range and lack the mobility of the US and UK missile systems.

https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-...nce-184479

Poland has just ordered 500 HIMARS.