StevoJH
The Bunker Group
Cost isn't going to matter if we get into a situation where they are required. The main concern with purchases from overseas would be whether they would be available to purchase when needed.As a manufacturing engineer I would love Australia to have a sovereign manufacturing capability for these missiles but surely it would be cheaper just to lay in a huge war stock. Presumably if we made them here the rate of production would only cover training usage, we couldn't possibly manufacture at the rate they would be consumed during hostilities and therefore would need to have a large war stock anyway. we could perhaps have a sovereign maintenance and upgrade capability (maybe we have already)
I am amazed that the Israelis have been able to sustain the usage rates of their air defence missiles
Remember that the missile in the Iron Dome system is actually quite cheap and basic compared to something like ESSM.