{"id":67137,"date":"2024-02-28T19:15:43","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T19:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:06:11","slug":"australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia to more than double naval surface fleet, grow defense budget"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand \u2014 The Royal Australian Navy will have its largest fleet since the end of World War II if it implements recommendations from a new independent review of its surface combat ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government\u2019s \u201cEnhanced Lethality Surface Combatant Fleet\u201d review, released Feb. 20, advocates for a flotilla of 26 warships, more than double the 11 hulls the service currently possesses. The government has accepted the recommendations except for one regarding the continuation of an upgrade for aging Anzac-class frigates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe size, lethality and capabilities of the future surface combatant fleet ensures that our Navy is equipped to meet the evolving strategic challenges of our region,\u201d Chief of Navy Vice Adm. Mark Hammond said in a statement following the report\u2019s unveiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennifer Parker, an expert associate at the National Security College within the Australian National University, told Defense News the force could achieve its new goal, even if \u201cplans of this magnitude are going to have challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

To supplement its forthcoming nuclear-powered submarines<\/a>, to be acquired under the AUKUS agreement with the U.K. and U.S., the future surface combatant fleet will feature nine so-called tier 1 destroyers and frigates, 11 smaller tier 2 frigates, and six optionally manned vessels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 1 vessels will comprise three existing Hobart-class air warfare destroyers \u2014 to receive an upgrade to the Aegis combat system and the installation of Tomahawk missiles \u2014 and six new Hunter-class anti-submarine frigates<\/a>. BAE Systems was originally supposed to produce nine frigates, with the first to be commissioned in 2034.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parker, a former naval officer, said the most significant problem for the service is a looming capability gap, as the first-of-class Anzac frigate will not sail again, and a second is set to retire in 2026, meaning the Navy will have nine total warships by the end of this decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Australia plans to retire two Anzac-class frigates by 2026, leaving six in service until supplemented by the first new general-purpose frigate in 2030. (Gordon Arthur\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost predict an increased period of risk in the late 2020s, and that is where Australia has the capability gap,\u201d Parker said, noting the the service should consider how to maximize its remaining capability and operational availability during this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this pending shortfall, the review recommended commissioning 11 general-purpose frigates at least the size of the Anzacs to \u201cprovide maritime and land strike, air defence and escort capabilities,\u201d the government explained in a summary of the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Australia plans to procure the first three frigates from overseas, with the remainder constructed in Henderson, Western Australia. The Navy has narrowed contenders to Germany\u2019s MEKO A-200, Japan\u2019s Mogami class, South Korea\u2019s FFX Batch II\/III, and Spain\u2019s Alfa 3000. The government will make a selection next year, with the first delivery scheduled in 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The planned six large optionally crewed surface vessels are based on an American design and feature 32 missile cells. Built in Henderson and destined to enter service from the mid-2030s, Parker said these are not traditional surface combatants because \u201ctheir role will be to extend the magazine capability\u201d of other ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Defence Minister Richard Marles said they would be crewed, Parker predicted they could end up as unmanned platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are legal issues with lethal autonomous weapons and operating uncrewed surface vessels, so until those legal issues are overcome, the Australian government wasn\u2019t about to announce that we\u2019re going to have some sort of floating magazine that can launch missiles,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from surface combatants, the review proposed a fleet of 25 \u201cminor war vessels\u201d for constabulary tasks. These include six Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels, or OPV, slashed from the original 12 that Luerssen Australia is constructing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe OPV is an inefficient use of resources for civil maritime security operations and does not possess the survivability and self-defence systems to contribute to a surface combatant mission,\u201d the review stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The money<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Marles said the entire plan is \u201cfully funded\u201d thanks to an additional AU$11.1 billion (U.S. $7.3 billion) allocated over the next decade, including AU$1.7 billion (U.S. $1.1 billion) in the next four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parker said this amount is \u201cprobably feasible,\u201d but added that the Treasury plans to only increase defense spending from 2027 to 2028. \u201cI don\u2019t know how they\u2019re going to be able to resource those things without increasing defense spending in May,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even with the budget allocation, it doesn\u2019t mean the Defence Department can spend that money, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey still need to go through the approval processes for that specific project,\u201d she added. \u201cI think the challenge is they need to convince the Australian public that defense requires increased spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marles had promised defense expenditure would move from an anticipated 2.1% of gross domestic product by 2030 to 2.4% by that time, but Parker said that is insufficient to fund so many naval acquisitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Amid the plans for new construction, a new shipbuilding plan is due later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parker noted many questions remain over that sector\u2019s workforce, but a nationwide approach addressing education, migration and infrastructure factors would help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But another challenge is crewing. The Defence Department planned to raise the number of military members by 2,201 in the 2022-2023 time frame, but instead it suffered a net loss of 1,389 uniformed personnel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Royal Australian Navy will have its largest fleet since the end of World War II if it implements recommendations from a new independent review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":118635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":16,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[45,160,11,16,36,27,167],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3492],"class_list":["post-67137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-naval","category-newsletters","category-unmanned","category-unmanned-systems"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ATWNMLU23JC47MCXGMAKUIHV3I","arc_canonical_url":"\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nAustralia to more than double naval surface fleet, grow defense budget - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Royal Australian Navy will have its largest fleet since the end of World War II if it implements recommendations from a new independent review.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australia to more than double naval surface fleet, grow defense budget\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Royal Australian Navy will have its largest fleet since the end of World War II if it implements recommendations from a new independent review.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-28T19:15:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T01:06:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gordon Arthur\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gordon Arthur\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"Australia to more than double naval surface fleet, grow defense budget\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2024-02-28T19:15:43+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T01:06:11+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 876,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2.JPG_c37f69.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Asia Pacific\",\n\t \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t \"Global\",\n\t \"Naval\",\n\t \"Newsletters\",\n\t \"Unmanned\",\n\t \"Unmanned Systems\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Australia to more than double naval surface fleet, grow defense budget - Defense News\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2.JPG_c37f69.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2024-02-28T19:15:43+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T01:06:11+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"The Royal Australian Navy will have its largest fleet since the end of World War II if it implements recommendations from a new independent review.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2.JPG_c37f69.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2.JPG_c37f69.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/28\\\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Naval\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/naval\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"naval\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"Australia to more than double naval surface fleet, grow defense budget\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Australia to more than double naval surface fleet, grow defense budget - Defense News","description":"The Royal Australian Navy will have its largest fleet since the end of World War II if it implements recommendations from a new independent review.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Australia to more than double naval surface fleet, grow defense budget","og_description":"The Royal Australian Navy will have its largest fleet since the end of World War II if it implements recommendations from a new independent review.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2024-02-28T19:15:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T01:06:11+00:00","author":"Gordon Arthur","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gordon Arthur","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Australia to more than double naval surface fleet, grow defense budget","datePublished":"2024-02-28T19:15:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T01:06:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/"},"wordCount":876,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2.JPG_c37f69.jpg","articleSection":["Asia Pacific","Daily News Roundup","Global","Naval","Newsletters","Unmanned","Unmanned Systems"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/","name":"Australia to more than double naval surface fleet, grow defense budget - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2.JPG_c37f69.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-28T19:15:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T01:06:11+00:00","description":"The Royal Australian Navy will have its largest fleet since the end of World War II if it implements recommendations from a new independent review.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2.JPG_c37f69.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2.JPG_c37f69.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2024\/02\/28\/australia-to-more-than-double-naval-surface-fleet-grow-defense-budget\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Naval","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/","ad_zone":"naval"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Australia to more than double naval surface fleet, grow defense budget"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2.JPG_c37f69.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67137"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67148,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67137\/revisions\/67148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67137"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=67137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}