The Government has approved Project Land 8113 Phase 2 - Second Long Range Fires Regiment - which will choose between Lockheed Martin's M142 HIMARS and the Kongsberg Defence Australia/Thales Australia StrikeMaster to provide Army with a land-based maritime strike capability.
StrikeMaster mates a Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile launcher with a Thales Australia Bushmaster 'utility' flatbed. Lockheed Martin's HIMARS proposal, meanwhile, would fire the Precision Strike Missile Increment 2. Both systems will undergo a competitive evaluation process through the course of 2025.
"Land 8113 Phase 2 - Second Long Range Fires Regiment merges all remaining phases of Land 8113 and includes Land 4100 Phase 2 Land Based Maritime Strike. This additional regiment will further expand Army’s ability to deliver persistent land-based maritime strike," a Defence spokesperson told ADM in June.
ADM understands that Defence's Project Land 8113 Phase 2 submission to Government included a Multi Mission Phased Array Radar capability as part of the overall project. It is unclear if the radar forms an approved part of the project going forward.
“The National Defence Strategy and our Government’s response recognises that land‑based maritime strike is a critical element in achieving a strategy of denial," said the Minister for Defence, Richard Marles.
“Today’s announcement represents another historic milestone, which will see our Army equipped with this capability for the first time in history.”
The Second Long Range Fires Regiment will be operated by Army's 10th Brigade which will be based at the Edinburgh Defence Precinct in Adelaide when it is stood up. It will complement the first Long Range Fires Regiment which will operate 42 M142 HIMARS vehicles firing Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets as well as Precision Strike Missile Increment 1 missiles.