Siswo Pramono called the development an “arms race” in an interview with The Guardian and raised concerns it could stifle economic progress because the research was “very expensive”.
From November 1, members of the Air Force will now be permitted to have facial hair, provided that it maintains a clean, neat, and professional appearance, and meets health and safety requirements.
Andrew Hastie also called for an increase in defence spending “well above” 2 per cent of GDP and argued that “the window is closing fast” for Australia to be ready for a major war.
Though previous launches were undertaken under restrictions of civilian launch, the company has confirmed that the new approval will enable it to test, integrate and refine the guidance systems to a higher standard.
In what could be interpreted as a swipe at problems with the Spartan, the department said lessons had been learned from previous major acquisitions.
The country’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, urged the US and Australia to abandon what it branded an “outdated Cold War zero-sum mentality” and “narrow geopolitical mindset”.