<
https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-australias-1-billion-defence-deal-with-germany-209490>
"Early last year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine a major historical turning point – a
zeitenwende.
That turning point continues to play out. On the eve of this week’s NATO summit
in Lithuania, Berlin and Canberra announced a deal that will send more than 100
Boxer armoured fighting vehicles from Australia to Germany – not the other way
around, as had been the case when Australia bought about 100 Leopard tanks in
the mid-1970s.
This unique deal, worth more than A$1 billion, is driven by the demands for a
rapid German rearmament after the strategic shock of Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine. Germany doesn’t have adequate military production capacity to meet its
suddenly pressing new defence needs.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese then added to the German deal by declaring an
Australian Air Force Boeing E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft would be based
at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany for six months, starting in October.
This aircraft will be part of NATO surveillance of the alliance’s eastern
flank, in particular European logistical hubs supporting Ukraine. These could
be threatened by air incursions from Russia or Belarus if the war escalates.
The Wedgetail will be able to detect aircraft approaching the Baltic states or
Poland in the east. It can then determine their likely intent and whether they
are friendly or not. Then, if necessary, an airborne air defence fighter
aircraft could be vectored to intercept the intruder.
This task has been carried out by NATO’s E-3 AWACS aircraft, but these planes
were bought in the 1980s and have very low reliability. The Wedgetail is only a
decade or so old and is much easier to maintain and keep in the air.
With this move, Australia will now share the burden of continual air patrols in
Eastern Europe made necessary by the Russian invasion."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
