Overview

This paper examines the delivery of air warfare destroyers (AWDs) and the combat system to date, and explores what upgrades might be possible in the stated period.

Australia is about to spend a lot of money completing the current three AWDs, only to turn around and spend a lot more money upgrading them. If the government wants to spend $4–5 billion on improving naval capability over the next 12 years, there might be more useful ways to spend the money.