Australia will acquire over 200 U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles that can strike land targets from 1,000 miles away.

Australia's naval expansion plan comes as China and other powers in the Asia-Pacific and beyond build up their firepower.

For the first time, an Australian naval destroyer, the HMAS Brisbane, has successfully fired a US-provided Tomahawk cruise missile. This milestone marks a significant step in the growing military cooperation between Australia and the US under the AUKUS alliance.

Australia has become just the third country to launch a Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile (TLAM) after the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Hobart class destroyer HMAS Brisbane (DDG-41) successfully test fired the long-range weapon for the first time during its current deployment off San Diego,

Hobart-class guided missile destroyer (DDG) HMAS Brisbane has test fired a Tomahawk cruise missile for the first time ever off the coast of San Diego, US. With the successful event, Australia joins the US and the UK as one of the few nations to acquire and launch these missiles.

HMAS Brisbane, an Australian destroyer, launches a Tomahawk cruise missile during a test conducted off the west coast of the United States, the Australian government said on.