Sydney: Australia will ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled Wednesday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay.
Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy said Australia would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions.
“Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” he said in a speech.
“That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.”
Australia will partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make “guided multiple launch rocket systems (GMLRS),” Conroy said, one of the first such facilities outside the United States.
The $200 million “advanced weapons manufacturing complex” would eventually produce up to 4,000 missiles each year.
“This equates to more than a quarter of current global GMLRS production and more than 10 times current Australian Defense Force demand,” Conroy said.
Australia had also contracted French weapons maker Thales to domestically manufacture M795 artillery rounds, which are commonly used in howitzer batteries.
“We all wish that acquiring new weapons and munitions was not necessary,” Conroy said.
“But in a world marked by crisis and disorder, a well-equipped military is an essential part of national defense.
“In this environment, Australia needs credible military capability to support a strategy of deterrence by denial.”
The announcement follows China’s recent test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile in the Pacific, the first such test in four decades.
Concerns about China’s massive defense spending and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have led many US allies to voice concern about a shortfall in munitions manufacturing capabilities.
Australia is among several Asia-Pacific nations dramatically increasing defense spending.
In April, Australia unveiled a defense strategy that envisaged a sharp rise in spending to counter its vulnerability to foes interrupting trade or preventing access to vital air and sea routes.
Besides rapidly developing its surface fleet, Australia plans to deploy stealthy nuclear-powered submarines in a tripartite agreement with the United States and Britain known as AUKUS.
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Australia launches plan to build long-range guided missiles
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Australia launches plan to build long-range guided missiles
- Australia will partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make “guided multiple launch rocket systems (GMLRS),”
Where’s my bag? India’s IndiGo battles passenger fury over luggage lost in chaos
- Customers complain they are not able to find their luggage
- Government orders IndiGo to deliver luggage promptly
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: India’s IndiGo is battling growing passenger fury over delays in finding and delivering thousands of stranded bags, with social media flooded with photos of luggage piling up at airports after last week’s large-scale flight disruptions. IndiGo, which has 65 percent of the domestic market, has apologized after canceling more than 2,000 flights as it failed to plan in time for stricter rules governing pilot rest, leading to crew shortages. The delays jolted tens of thousands of people, hitting travel, holiday and wedding plans in one of the worst disruptions in Indian aviation history. But last-minute cancelations and the multiple connecting flights used to reroute passengers, has also left thousands of suitcases and bags misplaced, some containing valuable items such as passports, house keys and medicines.
Passengers furious as bags lost, wedding clothes missing
Social media posts showed security-tagged bags piled up in terminal areas in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru airports with many furious passengers seeking help from IndiGo’s social media team on X. “Delhi Left Holding The Bag,” read the headline of a Times of India newspaper photo that went viral showing hundreds of bags in an area typically meant for passengers to sit.
The Indian government in a statement late on Sunday said it had ordered IndiGo to “trace and deliver all baggage separated from passengers due to disruptions within 48 hours.” By Saturday, the airline had delivered 3,000 pieces of baggage to passengers across India, the government said.
No response on help lines, passenger says
Vikash Bajpai, 47, said he had been waiting for four days for the luggage he and his 72-year-old mother checked in for their flight home to Pune from Kanpur city where they had attended a wedding.
They only reached home after spending a night in a New Delhi hotel, taking a series of connections to Mumbai, and then a taxi to Pune.
There was no sign of their bags when they landed in Mumbai. “I was given a number to call, but nobody answers the phone. The luggage has expensive wedding clothes and shoes, and my mother’s medication,” Bajpai said, estimating the contents were worth 90,000 rupees ($1,000).
“I am extremely upset.”
A senior IndiGo executive said on condition of anonymity the airline was working “round the clock” to clear the bags and ensure they reached their customers.
Deepak Chetry said he finally got his bags from IndiGo on Saturday, but only after waiting an entire night outside the Bengaluru airport. “All we got was a bottle of water and juice,” Chetry said.
Passengers furious as bags lost, wedding clothes missing
Social media posts showed security-tagged bags piled up in terminal areas in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru airports with many furious passengers seeking help from IndiGo’s social media team on X. “Delhi Left Holding The Bag,” read the headline of a Times of India newspaper photo that went viral showing hundreds of bags in an area typically meant for passengers to sit.
The Indian government in a statement late on Sunday said it had ordered IndiGo to “trace and deliver all baggage separated from passengers due to disruptions within 48 hours.” By Saturday, the airline had delivered 3,000 pieces of baggage to passengers across India, the government said.
No response on help lines, passenger says
Vikash Bajpai, 47, said he had been waiting for four days for the luggage he and his 72-year-old mother checked in for their flight home to Pune from Kanpur city where they had attended a wedding.
They only reached home after spending a night in a New Delhi hotel, taking a series of connections to Mumbai, and then a taxi to Pune.
There was no sign of their bags when they landed in Mumbai. “I was given a number to call, but nobody answers the phone. The luggage has expensive wedding clothes and shoes, and my mother’s medication,” Bajpai said, estimating the contents were worth 90,000 rupees ($1,000).
“I am extremely upset.”
A senior IndiGo executive said on condition of anonymity the airline was working “round the clock” to clear the bags and ensure they reached their customers.
Deepak Chetry said he finally got his bags from IndiGo on Saturday, but only after waiting an entire night outside the Bengaluru airport. “All we got was a bottle of water and juice,” Chetry said.
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