Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said the authorities have allocated more than 2 billion Australian dollars ($1.4 billion) to re-equip the country's naval forces and modernize its air defense systems, TASS reports.

First of all, the re-equipment of the Australian fleet will be associated with the SeaSparrow medium-range anti-aircraft guided missiles, which were purchased from the United States. Their first batch arrived in Australia for testing, the missiles are planned to be equipped with Anzac-class frigates and Hobart-class destroyers, the minister said.

According to him, some components of these missiles will be produced at national defense factories, which will allow the Australian military-industrial complex to become more significant in the international arms market.