Charbel Kadib

The aircraft has flown to India for a combined India-Australia maritime surveillance exercise in the Indian Ocean, aiming to strengthen operational maritime domain awareness, enhance anti-submarine warfare manoeuvring, and improve interoperability.

The government has though stressed it is yet to determine the size of the fleet, despite reports claiming 40 drones were ordered for $1.3 billion.

The investment, which will also go towards HMAS Albatross in NSW, is tipped to generate approximately 600 jobs when work begins later this year and will be completed by 2024.

Boeing Defence Australia has been selected to lead a new $103 million Advanced Defence Aerospace Manufacturing Network announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday.

Defence has confirmed that it has scrapped a multibillion-dollar project to deliver long-range ISR and strike capability to the Royal Australian Air Force.

Brisbane-based Insitu Pacific has been selected to deliver a tranche of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) to the Australian Army as part of a $650 million investment in local capability.