Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has gone on a Twitter rant, accusing the federal government of snubbing Victoria by giving a multibillion-dollar defence contract to Queensland.

The $5.2 billion contract to build Boxer CRV tanks was awarded to German defence giant Rheinmetall, which is set to base itself in Ipswich, southwest of Brisbane.

"We were best placed to build these vehicles that would defend our nation - but we couldn't provide the electoral boost that would defend Malcolm Turnbull's career," Mr Andrews tweeted in response to the decision to reject BAE Systems' bid to build the tanks in Melbourne.

Mr Andrews said the decision had "broken what little remaining faith" he had in the federal government.