According to the Australian Department of Defence, the Tomahawk cruise missiles will be carried by the Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart-class destroyers.
The cost of procuring “more than 200” Tomahawk cruise missiles is about AUD 1.3 billion, Canberra said in a statement.
In February this year, the United States Department of State approved a possible sale of up to 200 Tomahawk Block V and up to 20 Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles with additional equipment and service support. At the time, the estimated cost of the future contract was USD 895 million.
Australia will be the third user of Tomahawk cruise missiles. So far, the United States has only sold this weapon system to the Great Britain.
The Tomahawk cruise missile is an object of interest for some European countries as well. In April this year, the Dutch Ministry of Defence announced that it intends to arm its frigates and new submarines with these missiles.
Poland is also interested in the procurement of these weapon systems. According to sources, Warsaw is considering arming new submarines with Tomahawk cruise missiles. Warsaw has recently launched market research aimed at procuring three submarines for the Polish Navy.
