Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be sounded out over buying another three Air Warfare Destroyers when he meets his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez in Madrid.
| Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be sounded out over buying another three Air Warfare Destroyers when he meets his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez in Madrid, but is unlikely to give any commitment.
Navantia argues the proven design would boost Australia’s maritime strike capability in the short term, as well as avoid a. A Spanish acquisition would also create shipbuilding jobs, amid questions over whether nuclear-powered submarines will be built locally. “It’s important that democratic nations stand with Ukraine. And that’s the context of this NATO summit. It’s also the case that Russia and China, their arrangements of closeness that has occurred in recent times, means that it’s also very important for our region,” Mr Albanese said.
The AWDs can carry 48 missiles compared with the 32 planned on the Hunter class, although the frigates’ role is to hunt submarines.However, intellectual property concerns could hamper any deal. ASC Shipbuilding is now a subsidiary of the frigate’s shipbuilder BAE Systems, which could be a barrier to Navantia sharing its design.