Hope is not a task verb. Yet we seem to being ‘hoping’ the Australian Defence Force won’t require Integrated Air and Missile Defence soon ⬇️
The air and missile defence capabilities of the Army, Navy and Air Force are those of a boutique force built for wars of choice in the unipolar moment. Don’t take our word for it – re read the key points on page 69 of the 2023 Defence Strategic Review:
“Defence must deliver a layered integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) operational capability urgently. This must comprise a suite of appropriate command and control systems, sensors, air defence aircraft and surface (land and maritime) based missile defences…While we are supportive of Defence’s approach to developing an ADF common IAMD capability, we are not supportive of the relative priority that the program was given. The program is not structured to deliver a minimum viable capability in the shortest period of time but is pursuing a long-term near perfect solution at an unaffordable cost.”
There seems to be an expectation by too many in Canberra that should competition give way to conflict, the United States will allocate its own assets to protect the critical infrastructure and military establishments of Australia. Australian Strategic Policy Institute‘s @Malcom Davis’s assessment of readiness highlights a capability gap that is known and needs to be funded as soon as possible:
“Integrated air and missile defence (IAMD), without which our northern bases are exposed to attack, should be made a top priority. This area has been underinvested in by the current government despite advice in the 2023 DSR urging the government to fast-track the acquisition of effective IAMD capability.”
Australia is not ready to defend against drones, its not ready to defend against missiles and its not ready to defence against the scale sophisticated Air Force target packages that our pacing threat can generate.
Ukraine has shown how a smaller nation can resist and persist if it fields substantial air and missile defence capability. Russia’s Air Force has been forced to engage at maximum range in Russia’s airspace to avoid air defence.
Israel has shown how an effective missile defence system can mitigate – but not negate – missile attacks from Iran, including when reinforced by substantial US air and missile defence capability.
Australia needs to ditch the tough talking rhetoric and get real – time to physically harden our critical infrastructure and get to building a world class Integrated Air and Missile Defence system to protect the homeland and our deployed forces.
We’ll add the ASPI article and a link to CSIS’s excellent Missile Threat site that outlines the world’s missile capabilities and missile defence systems.