Australia will spend up to $1 billion on sea mines to deter potential adversaries from sending ships and submarines into Australian waters.

It’s the country’s first major investment in sea mines since the Vietnam War.

Senior analyst from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Malcolm Davis, says modern sea mines are very different from those of yesteryear.

“It’s not like the old World War II movies where you have sea mines bobbing in the waves. These things lie on the bottom and they fire up a torpedo to the ship they want to hit,” he told Ross and Russel.

“These things are quite cheap so you can buy large numbers of them.”

Press PLAY below to hear how sea mines can protect Australian waters