Australia will spend A$1.5 billion (€966 million) to improve maritime surveillance of its northern approach, buy more long-range drones and upgrade the Poseidon maritime patrol plane.
Defense Secretary Pat Conroy said in a statement on Tuesday that the fleet of 14 Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft will be upgraded in the areas of anti-submarine warfare, maritime strikes and intelligence gathering.
A fourth Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton drone, developed jointly with the US Navy, will be based in Australia’s Northern Territory, closest to Asia, and will be operated by a newly formed squadron in the state of South Australia.
The statement said Triton would provide long-term monitoring of the Australian maritime area.
“The purchase of additional Triton aircraft will enhance operations from Australia’s northern bases, which is a priority under the Defense Strategic Review,” Conroy said.
The April assessment said the United States is no longer the “unipolar leader of the Indo-Pacific region,” that intense competition between the United States and China defines the region, and that great power competition has “the potential for conflict.”
It recommended that the country’s northern bases become a focal point to deter adversaries and protect trade and communications routes.
Australian Poseidon aircraft conducted patrols in the South China Sea and also operated from a Japanese air base to enforce UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea.
Conroy said modernizing the Poseidon aircraft would enhance the protection of Australia’s “maritime interests”.
($1 = 1.5523 Australian dollars)
