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By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Stocks of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Raytheon Technologies (NYSE:RTX) were trading higher Tuesday after Australia picked the two defense contractors to build and supply missiles to it to counter China.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the two companies will partner a new government-backed firm to domestically build guided weapons for the military. The country currently sources its missiles from the U.S. and other countries.
Australia plans to accelerate the deployment of new long-range missiles.
The report quoted the country’s Defense Minister Peter Dutton as saying that missiles made in the country could also be exported to the U.S.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the threat from China has prompted several countries to have a re-look at their defense preparedness and forced them to commit much more than they ever did.
Australia has committed to expand the size of its standing military by 30% and build a new submarine base on its east coast that would be able to host visiting U.S. vessels. The country is now a part of two alliances – the Quad and the AUKUS. QUAD includes the U.S., India and Japan while the three-member AUKUS also comprises the U.S. and the U.K.
