Missiles & aircraft instead of vulnerable warships

In an asymmetric fight with huge navies, Australia’s few surface combatants cannot survive. We will never match the missile and shipbuilding capability of the superpowers.

Australia should counter these huge navies with land and air launched anti-ship missiles and longer range air forces, not a handful of floating war graves.

Superpowers vs. Australia	Warships and submarines	Approx. Vertical Launch Silos (VLS)
PRC	754	4,300
USA	470	8,400
Russia	419	~180 major combatants, unknown number of VLS
India	135	1,100
Australia – 2025	11	208
Australia – 2043 (?)	26	880

Existing vessels should be sold or painted white, ‘de-navalised’ and transferred to Border Force for maritime policing work. (See references)

Australia should certainly not be buying any more frigates, they would be quickly destroyed in any conflict with a superpower. They will either be small with limited defensive magazines or large and a bigger target.

Australia should seek to modify our agreement with Japan to buy Mogami class frigates and instead buy Japanese Tagei class submarines.

The PRC can sink anything we can float

See also new DF-100 missile range.