Australia's defence minister, Robert Hill, launched a £470m radar system yesterday which will allow surveillance of neighbouring countries.

The Jindalee operational radar network (Jorn) was completed five years behind schedule and £50m over budget.

It is intended to spot large boats or aircraft but Senator Hill also linked it to concerns about regional terrorism in the wake of the Bali bombing. He said: "This is a much more valuable asset than I think the public will ever understand.

"It's a huge capability boost in terms of surveillance and as we focus on such issues as regional terrorism, it's going to be a great asset."

Previous Australian governments have been worried by their inability to carry out consistent surveillance of the country's vast north. A prototype of Jorn has been used to pick out people-smuggling boats in the Timor sea.

Scientists began work on the project nearly 40 years ago, and the system has been under construction for 11 years.

Full Article:
The Guardian