German defence minister in Brisbane eyeing Australian military hardware

From Australian ABC news service:

By Tom Lowrey

Germany's defence minister is continuing his tour of Australia, taking the opportunity to check out some of Australia's newest military hardware.

Boris Pistorius will join Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy at RAAF base Amberley this morning near Brisbane, checking out Australia's 'Ghost Bat' aerial drones.

Last year, the federal government signed contracts to acquire six Australian-made Ghost Bats from Boeing Australia. More than $2.34 billion has been committed to the ghost bat program since 2019.

Ghost Bats are designed to operate as wingmen for manned Australian fighter jets, such as the F-35 or F-18. They are fully armed, and last year a prototype took down an aerial target with a live weapon for the first time.

But it's hoped they'll find a place beyond just the RAAF.

Germany is among a number of countries expressing interest in the ghost bat, and the German defence minister will receive a demonstration this morning.

He'll also visit German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall's factory in Brisbane, where the Australian-made Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicle is being manufactured, with the first batch just rolling off the assembly line.

Rheinmetall is a German company, but is producing more than 100 Boxer heavy weapon carriers for the German army in its Australian factory.

Australia and Germany are also expected to take further steps today to collaborate on the manufacture of anti-ship cruise missiles, with plans to produce components for both the naval strike missile and the joint strike missile in Australia.