Defence is all up in the air

Thursday 9 July 2026

Andrew Greene

The West Australian

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Concerns about Australia’s lack of air defence are being raised after China’s test firing of a nuclear-capable missile into the Pacific, with warnings that military facilities such as the key AUKUS hub of HMAS Stirling in WA lack adequate protection. 

The Albanese government this week led global condemnation of Beijing’s “provocative” actions after a People’s Liberation Army-Nacy submarine on Monday launched a ballistic weapon into waters close to Tuvalu and Nauru. 

Strategic experts are warning China is likely to increase the number of missile tests in this region, while the opposition says the recent operation by the PLA highlights Australia’s lack of preparedness.

“Australia’s integrated air and missile defence is totally inadequate for an age of missiles and drones,” shadow defence minister James Paterson told the West Australian. 

“Many of our key bases and facilities are dangerously exposed to the increasing range of the PLA missiles as was powerfully demonstrated this week.”

Senator Paterson has highlighted the impending rotation of US and British nuclear-powered submarines at HMAS Stirling under the AUKUS program to stress the need for Australia to quickly acquire technology to defend against ballistic weapon attacks. 

“We urgently need ground-based missile and drone defence for potential targets like HMAS Stirling, which will host US and UK nuclear-submarines next year,” he said. 

“The Albanese Government must urgently prioritise investments in IAMD so that we can defend these critical facilities.” 

A spokesperson for Defence Minister Richard Marles responded by saying Senator Paterson knew “full well” that the Government was delivering “the largest increase to defence funding in Australia’s history”, claiming the Coalition still had no plan to deliver ADF needs. 

From next year up to four US and one British boat will begin deploying to WA under the first stage of AUKUS known as Submarine Rotational Force-West. 

In 2023, Labor’s Defence Strategic Review indefinitely postponed plans to acquire a Medium Range Ground Based Air Defence capability, while global demand for missiles has also increased significantly since Russia began its attempted invasion of Ukraine. 

Senior defence officials were last month quizzed about concerns over the slow pace of acquiring integrated air-and-missile defence to protect key military facilities.

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