Australia to double naval warships, largest since World War II

Canberra, Feb 20: Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy on Tuesday announced the major overhaul in Navy and said the government is committed to more than doubling the size of the nation's naval warships.

With the announcement, Australia's fleet of combat-ready warships will be expanded from the current 11 to 26, Xinhua news agency reported.

The government will spend an additional $7.2 billion over the next decade to accelerate the delivery of the future fleet, which Marles and Conroy said will be Australia's largest since the end of World War II.

The plan in total will boost the country's defence spend in the early 2030s to 2.4 per cent of GDP, compared to the 2.1 per cent it was planned to be when the government came to office, said reports.