Australia beefs up air defence with 12 new Boeing Growlers The Australian government has announced it is to purchase 12 attack planes equipped with electronic radar-jamming technology. The government had previously said it would install 12 of its existing fleet with the new equipment. Australia sees US-Chinese relations as the most important factor influencing its strategic decision making. Prime Minister Julia Gillard called on China to come clean on its military strategy: "We do want to see, as China modernises its military, transparency about that military modernisation. We are here today being very transparent about Australia's defence posture and outlook, and we press for that kind of transparency. As well as the decision to buy the Boeing Growlers, Canberra said it intends to increase defence spending by 2 percent. It also signalled it would buy 12 new conventional submarines. More about: Australia, Boeing, Defence, Military