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canberra [Australia]Jan. 8 (ANI): Australia will gain unrivaled long-range strike capability with the purchase of the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) system, ABC News reports.
The US-made HIMARS system has previously been praised in Ukraine for its effectiveness against invading Russian forces.
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The Australian government has finalized a deal to buy 20 vehicle-mounted rocket launchers by 2026, ABC News reported. Another agreement was signed to procure Norwegian-made Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) for Australian warships in 2024.
The government said the purchase would cost between $1 billion and $2 billion.
Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy has had “productive discussions” with the US Army and Lockheed Martin during his visit to the US on how Australia could start producing rockets for HIMARS.
A Ukrainian attack using the US-made HIMARS system killed hundreds of Russian soldiers in the Donetsk region. According to Conroy, HIMARS’ lethal precision in Ukraine is proof why Australia should get the technology.
“We’re going to have an Army ground-launched missile that can reach targets over 300 kilometers away, and we’re part of a development program in the United States called the Precision Strike Missile, which will enable the Army to hit targets over 499 kilometers away, ABC News quoted Conroy as saying.
Seven months ago, Australia’s parliament informed the possible sale of HIMARS, produced by Lockheed Martin, to Australia.
“The Naval Strike Missile is a significant addition to our Navy’s warship capabilities, and the HIMARS launcher, which has been successfully deployed by the Ukrainian military in recent months, is an important new capability for the Army,” Conroy said.
Recently, Ukrainian drones attacked an energy facility in Russia’s Bryansk region, causing power outages in nearby villages.
Moscow said 63 Russian soldiers were killed as a result of Ukrainian airstrikes by U.S.-made HIMARS in Donetsk, TASS news agency reported. The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian troops hit six HIMARS rockets at a temporary deployment point of the Russian Armed Forces in the Makivka region of Donetsk.
“The Kyiv regime attacked one of the temporary deployment points of the Russian armed forces in the Makiivka settlement area of ​​the Donetsk People’s Republic with six rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple rocket system,” the Russian Defense Ministry was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency.
“63 Russian servicemen were killed as a result of the destruction of four missiles with high-explosive warheads at the temporary deployment point,” it further said. (Arnie)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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