Australia looks to become a top arms exporter over the next decade

By Christen Smith

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Thales CEO Chris Jenkins at Thales Underwater Systems in Sydney. Turnbull has unveiled a plan to become one of the world’s top 10 exporters of military hardware. (Photo: Daniel Munoz/AAP)
Government officials in Australia unveiled a multi-billion dollar strategy Monday to become one of the world’s top arms exporters by 2028.
Defense Minister Christopher Pyne said growing Australia’s defense exports — currently worth between AU$1.5 billion and AU$2.5 billion — will create jobs and spur economic growth, boosting the country’s reputation around the globe.
“It is an ambitious, positive plan to boost Australian industry, increase investment, and create more jobs for Australian businesses,” Pyne said in a news release Monday. “Australia has so many defence industry success stories: Thales’ Bushmaster, Hawkei and sonars, Austal’s ships and engineering and CEA’s world beating radar, amongst many others. This strategy sets the conditions for even more success, and more defence industry jobs in the future.”
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute ranked Australia as the 20th largest arms exporter in the world in 2016. The new Defense Export Plan identifies “priority markets” it will target in its efforts to climb the rankings, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Middle East

Source: Guns.com