Australia looks to Iran, Ukraine wars in drone-centric defence rethink
Wars in the Middle East and Ukraine have led to a rethink on how Australia should spend its military budget, with the Albanian government announcing billions of dollars in new and reprioritised funding for unmanned and autonomous systems, including drones.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Richard Marles will launch the 2026 National Defense Strategy and Integrated Investment Programme this week.
They will allocate up to $15 billion for air, sea and land systems, such as the Ghost Shark stealth submarine and Ghost Bat stealth fighter jet, designed and built by Australia.
Both are considered world leaders in the use of crewless and artificial intelligence, attracting interest from foreign militaries looking to buy.
“Conflicts abroad over the last two years have shown how important unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned systems are to our Defense Force,” Mr. Marles said in a statement.
“The war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East underscore the rapid advances in these technologies and the ability of these systems to create significant asymmetric advantage against larger, more expensive platforms.”
While air systems will receive the bulk of the new financing with $8.1 billion, maritime systems will receive $4.5 billion.
Another $2.4 billion will be spent on the development of land systems.
“Expanding our fleet of autonomous and crewless systems across all domains will not only help the (Australian Defense Force) keep our nation safe, but will also strengthen Australia’s sovereign defense industry by supporting local jobs and leveraging Australian innovation,” he said.
“Australia is at the forefront of technologies such as the Ghost Bat and Ghost Shark, designed and manufactured here in Australia by Australian workers for the ADF.
“Sovereign crewless capabilities will also help protect the ADF and critical infrastructure, one of the key capability impacts outlined in the National Defense Strategy.”
