Australia to invest additional A$11.1 billion over next decade in defence

FILE PHOTO: Australian Minister of Defense Richard Marles listens during a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S., July 13, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File Photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia said on Tuesday it would inject an additional A$11.1 billion ($7.25 billion) over the next decade in defence for the accelerated delivery of the navy's future surface combatant fleet and to expand the country's shipbuilding industry.

This additional funding for the future surface fleet brings both acquisition and sustainment investment in the fleet to A$54.2 billion in total over the next decade, Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement.