The US Department of State has approved a possible $300m Foreign Military Sale to Australia for Tomahawk capability development and associated support.
The proposed package includes a Theater Mission Planning Center, mission-planning software, communications systems and services covering programme management, engineering, training and logistics.
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The equipment and services would support the development, procurement and delivery of Australia’s Tomahawk mission-planning capability.
The proposed equipment is intended to improve the Royal Australian Navy’s ability to plan Tomahawk operations and support interoperability with US and other allied maritime forces.
According to the State Department, the sale would support Australia’s efforts to address current and future threats, strengthen regional deterrence and improve homeland defence. It said the package would not alter the military balance in the region and would not affect US defence readiness.
The principal contractors identified for the proposed sale are BAE Systems, Tapestry Solutions, Peraton and Leidos.
The US government said it was not aware of any offset agreement connected with the potential sale. Any such arrangement would be negotiated between Australia and the contractors.
The implementation would not require additional US government or contractor personnel to be assigned to Australia.
The proposed package follows Australia’s decision in 2023 to acquire more than 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US for its Hobart-class destroyers, in a deal valued at approximately A$1.3bn.
In January 2024, the State Department also approved the possible sale of Tomahawk weapons system support services and related equipment to Australia for $250m.
The Tomahawk, with a stated range of 1,500km, is an all-weather, subsonic cruise missile originally produced by General Dynamics.
Currently manufactured by Raytheon, it is in service with the surface ships and submarines of the US Navy and the UK’s Royal Navy, as well as ground forces and international allies like Australia and Japan.
Notably, the US deployed the Tomahawk missile in the US-Israeli strike campaign Operation Epic Fury initiated against Iran in February this year.
