Australia boosts navy funding to build largest fleet since WWII

SYDNEY -- Australia will inject another 11.1 billion Australian dollars ($7.2 billion) into its defense spending to build "a larger, more lethal" surface combat fleet, giving the navy its largest number of warships since World War II.

The minister of defense, Richard Marles, said Tuesday that the government had committed the extra funds as part of a AU$54 billion plan to overhaul its surface fleet in the coming decade, increasing the number of combat-ready warships from 11 to 26.