Australia will spend $1.3bn to buy more than 200 Tomahawk Block IV and Block V cruise missiles with a range of 1,500km for Hobart-class destroyers

Australia intends to strengthen its long-range strike capabilities. For this purpose, the country is buying American Tomahawk cruise missiles.

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At the moment, there are only two countries that have Tomahawk in service: the US and the UK. In addition to Australia, Japan, Canada and the Netherlands are also interested in the US cruise missiles.

The Australian Department of Defence has officially announced the purchase of more than 200 Tomahawk missiles. The press release says they have a maximum launch range of 1,500 kilometres. The agreement will be worth $1.3bn.

In March 2023, the US State Department approved the potential sale of 20 Block IV level missiles and 200 Block V missiles. The more advanced version of the Tomahawk is characterised by the ability to strike moving objects and is capable of changing the target right in flight.

The cruise missiles will be armed with Hobart-class destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy. The fleet includes the warships Hobart (D39), Brisbane (D41) and Sydney (D42). The destroyers have the Mk 41 vertical launch system for Tomahawk launches.

Source: Australian Ministry of Defence