A potent navy, and leaders willing to use it, will be best for protecting their shores.
The Navy is still too small, even with the planned and recent acquisitions. 3 Aegis DDG’s (the last of which commissions this year) and 9 Type 26 frigates under construction (probably to be enlarged to 10,000 tonnes and sporting CEAFAR 2 radars) are pretty potent but too few in number.
12 subs are planned, but don’t even start arriving until 2035 at the earliest.
I get the feeling that this is the first down payment of a larger Australian build up as the strategic situation is turning bad quicker than a bucket of milk under the summer sun.
Smart move on their part.....