Australia to help Germany with armoured vehicles to replenish its depleted military

Australia will sign an agreement with Germany to deliver more than 100 Australian-made Boxer armed carriers to the European nation's military in one its largest defence export deals, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said in Berlin.

The deal to export German military technology back to Germany comes as the conflict in Ukraine has forced Berlin and other European nations to replenish their military equipment.

German defence contractor Rheinmetall began making the combat reconnaissance vehicle in northeastern Queensland state in March, under a contract to supply 211 vehicles to the Australian military, creating 1,000 jobs over a decade.

Australia will "deliver over 100 Boxer armed carriers here to Germany," Albanese said on Sunday.

"It will guarantee that the 1,000 jobs ... in Queensland will go into the future and will be worth in excess of A$1 billion for the Australian economy," a sum equivalent to $666 million.

Albanese will sign the in-principle pact with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz when the two meet to discuss defence and trade in Berlin on Monday, an Australian government official said.

On Tuesday, he will attend a summit of NATO leaders in Lithuania, to which Australia has been invited as an Indo-Pacific Four partner, along with Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

A NATO partner since 2014, Australia has agreed a new three-year partnership programme, Australian officials said.

The partnership focuses on maintaining military interoperability, in addition to capability development, scientific research, and consultation on non-proliferation, emerging and disruptive technologies, space and cyber defence.

France has opposed a plan for NATO to open a Tokyo liaison office as a move that could irritate China and expose the grouping to accusations of geographical overreach.

($1=1.5013 Australian dollars)