AUSTRALIA'S insistence on maintaining a strong defence industry means it pays vastly more than other nations for its equipment, a study has found.
Conducted in the United States by McKinsey consultants, the study raises further concerns about the Rudd government's plans to acquire 12 submarines to replace the trouble-plagued Collins class vessels.
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The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), in a study last year, put a price tag of $9 billion on buying off-the-shelf European submarines, and $36 billion on an Australian design and build.
