A wide-ranging review of Australia’s defence force has recommended projects immediately be delayed and stripped back to address overspend.
The Defence Strategic Review recommends a land combat vehicle program that would have produced up to 450 infantry fighting vehicles be cut back to 129 to provide a single mechanised battalion.
It also recommends programs for medium and heavy landing craft, long-range missiles and mobile land-based missiles used to strike maritime targets be accelerated and expanded.
But it says a second regiment of self-propelled howitzer artillery should be cancelled.
The review was foreshadowed by a change in defence posture to focus more on long-range strike capabilities and being able to combat and deter adversaries further from Australia’s shores.
It was conducted independently by former defence force chief Angus Houston and former defence minister Stephen Smith and doesn’t reflect government policy.
An unclassified version of the review will be released on Monday, but some of the more than 100 recommendations will remain classified.
The ABC reports the Albanese government has confirmed its response to the review will include slashing infantry fighting vehicles from 450 to 129 and cancelling a planned second regiment of self-propelled Howitzers.
The ABC says the military will fast-track the purchase of land-based missiles to deter rising regional threats.
Review findings
One chapter specifically addresses funding issues and budget constraints, outlining that programs outstripped capacity by 24 per cent over the forward estimates.
It says new capability requirements coupled with demand for existing programs, as well as workforce pressures, means difficult decisions will need to be made.
Between the 2020 defence strategic update and the start of the review in August 2022, there were $42 billion worth of defence announcements over the decade to 2032/33 with no additional provisions in the budget.
The defence budget also had to contend with a $15 billion reduction in allocated spending over the same decade due to reallocations and efficiency dividends, according to the review.
