New missiles and rockets will be used to step up Australia’s national security with the defence force shifting to a more aggressive posture.

Naval strike missiles will be loaded onto destroyers and frigates from 2024 and long-range, surface-to-surface rocket systems will be in use by 2027.

The truck-mounted launchers have been successfully deployed by the Ukrainian military over recent months.

The rocket system has a range of 300 kilometres, which is expected to increase to more than 500 kilometres as technology advances.

Cabinet minister Murray Watt said the increased range of the 20 rocket systems would be a significant boost to Australia’s capabilities. The army’s missile launchers can currently only hit targets 40-50 kilometres away.

“One of the really key benefits of this is not just the mobility of these vehicles and these forces, but the range that those missiles can be fired,” he told Sky News.

“We really want to make sure that our defence forces have the best equipment to keep Australian people safe.”

The total package is expected to cost taxpayers $1 billion.

The defence force is moving to a new “impactful projection” doctrine, where it is gearing up to be able to strike and deter enemies in the region at much greater distances.

The Australian Strategic Police Institute’s Peter Jennings said the long-range rockets could even extend beyond the 500-kilometre range, with actual capabilities often being more advanced than what was publicly advertised.

“The point about these weapons is that we can send them pretty much anywhere,” he said.

“They’re very, very portable. Anywhere you can fly an aircraft you can have one of these things operating very quickly.

“What we’ve seen in Ukraine is that they are incredibly accurate and that they can be moved quickly.”

He said the military needed to develop and acquire long-range capabilities that extend deep into the Pacific.

“For Australia, given our geography, the longer the range, the better,” he said.

Mr Jennings said Australia may only have 24 months to prepare for a conflict with China, with heightened tensions predicted to peak in the middle of the decade.

But he added that the military was playing catch-up and was where it should have been five years ago.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the defence force must be equipped with high-end military capabilities.

“The naval strike missile and [rocket] launchers will give our defence force the ability to deter conflict and protect our interests,” he said.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the systems were at the cutting edge of modern military technology.

-AAP