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Australia and Canada Sign Major Defence Deal
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In Short: Australia and Canada signed a record A$2.5 billion deal for the export of Australia's advanced over-the-horizon radar system, marking the largest defence export in Australian history and creating thousands of jobs in both countries.
Australia and Canada signed a record A$2.5 billion ($1.8 billion) deal on Monday to export a sophisticated over-the-horizon radar defence system, the government announced.
This agreement, the first international sale of Australia’s advanced radar technology, was hailed by Defence Minister Richard Marles as 'far and away the largest defence export that we have ever done.
The radar system, described as the 'backbone' of Australia’s long-range northern surveillance, is the most advanced long-range radar in the world, according to Marles.
The deal is expected to support about 300 technical jobs in Australia and create nearly 2,300 jobs annually in Canada over the next five years, as noted by Canada’s secretary of state for defence procurement, Stephen Fuhr.
Fuhr emphasized the strategic partnership between the two countries, stating, 'We’ve stood shoulder to shoulder for generations as the world adjusts to its new strategic and economic realities. I can’t think of a stronger partner to work with more than Australia.
Background
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a land area of 7,688,287 km2 (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world, and is the world's flattest and driest inhabited continent.
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the second-largest country by total area, with the longest coastline of any country.
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- Australia signed a record Aus$2.5 billion ($1.8 billion) deal Monday to export a sophisticated over-the-horizon radar defence system to Canada.
- It was the first international sale of Australia’s advanced radar technology, the government said.
- “It is far and away the largest defence export that we have ever done,” Defence Minister Richard Marles told a news conference.
- It is the “backbone” of Australia’s long-range northern surveillance, and the most advanced long-range radar in the world, Marles said.
- The agreement would support about 300 technical jobs in Australia, the government said.
- Canada’s secretary of state for defence procurement, Stephen Fuhr, said it would also create nearly 2,300 jobs annually in his country over the next five years.
- “We’ve stood shoulder to shoulder for generations as the world adjusts to its new strategic and economic realities. I can’t think of a stronger partner to work with more than Australia,” Fuhr said.