The Australian defense industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 1.97% from a value of US$20.8 billion in 2009 to US$24.7 billion by 2015. Indeed, in 2009, the Australian government launched a new military modernization plan to upgrade its forces in order to counteract the threat posed by rising global terrorism, changing political dynamics in the Asia-Pacific region and the rising number of peacekeeping operations undertaken by the Australian forces.

Furthermore, with the exception of a spike of 2.3% in 2009, defense expenditure as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to increase from 1.9% in 2005 to 2.1% in 2015.

However, while the capital expenditure as a percentage of defense budget peaked at 29.4% in 2009, the government is expected to decrease this value to 23.7% by 2015. This is due to the increased budget allocation for revenue expenditure in order to manage matters such as death and retirement benefits, and support services.

During the forecast period, the key market opportunities in the defense industry are expected to emerge in categories such as defense information technology, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), helicopters, upgraded vehicles, armory, submarine rescue vehicles, sonar systems, troop protection equipment, patrolling ships, monitoring and security equipment.

Australian companies included in the study:

+ Raytheon Australia

+ Boeing Defense Australia

+ Saab Systems

+ General Dynamics Land systems Australia

+ Lockheed Martin Australia (LMA)

+ Navantia, Tenix Defense

+ Australian Aerospace

+ Serco Sodexho Defense Services (SSDS)

+ Thales Australia

+ ASC