Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Wednesday that the U.S. will scale back its military presence, reflecting “our combined success in fighting ISIS.”
Canberra had narrowed the competition to the HIMARS-PrSM and the StrikeMaster, which couples a Thales Bushmaster 4x4 chassis with Naval Strike Missiles.
Before hundreds of top brass, Hegseth pledged to create more fitness and grooming rules and encouraged commanders to quit if they don’t like his policies.
When combined with another F-35 deal from December 2024, the Pentagon will pay Lockheed Martin about $24.3 billion for the 18th and 19th lots of the jets.
The countries had regularly held joint military exercises until 2012, when political relations deteriorated after the overthrow of the Egyptian government.