HMAS Brisbane test-fires 2500km Tomahawk missile off US west cost in moment hailed has ‘history’

Dramatic vision captures the launch of a long-range missile capable of travelling almost 20 times further than other weapons in Australia’s arsenal.

Australian warship, the HMAS Brisbane, has test-fired a Tomahawk missile off the US west coast.

Marking an “historic advancement” by the navy, this increases the strike range to 2500km - the same distance as Melbourne to Townsville.

The ageing Harpoon anti-ship missile has a range of just 124km.

Tomahawk missiles are used to attack land targets and can take out critical infrastructure including airfields and runways.

The defence strategic review, released in 2023, recommended fast-tracking the acquisition of long-range strike capabilities.

Australia is one of three nations alongside the US and UK to acquire and fire the missiles.

The firing of this Tomahawk on December 3 follows launches of the naval strike missile and standard missile - 6 earlier in 2024, which also have greater ranges than the Harpoon.

The navy will acquire more than 200 Tomahawk missiles at a cost of $1.3 billion.

The missiles will be fitted to the three Hobart class destroyer warships and future Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines to be delivered under the AUKUS partnership.

Chief of Navy Mark Hammond described the speed of the step taken as an “historic advancement”.

“The enhanced lethality of our surface fleet is a critical and much needed assurance mechanism to ensure our continued access to the sea, which sustains our livelihoods,” he said.

“We are doing everything humanly and legally possible to optimise the Royal Australian Navy’s surface combatant fleet as quickly as possible.”

Australian National University expert associate Jennifer Parker said the nation didn’t have any of these capabilities 12 months ago.

“This announcement shows how hard the ADF and the navy actually worked to deliver what is a significant change in their missile capability ... in months, that is impressive,” she said.

“I honestly can’t think of a time in navy’s modern history where it has enhanced lethality by that much in a period of a couple of years.”

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the test firing demonstrated the strength of the US alliance.

“By enhancing our own defence capabilities, and by working with partners, we change the calculus for any potential aggressor so that no state will ever conclude the benefits of conflict outweigh the risks,” he said.