{"id":86496,"date":"2024-04-16T17:31:52","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T07:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=86496"},"modified":"2024-04-17T16:04:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T06:04:53","slug":"australias-next-step-in-integrated-air-and-missile-defence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australias-next-step-in-integrated-air-and-missile-defence\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s next step in integrated air and missile defence"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Australia is joining the US and Japan in <\/span>developing systems for <\/span>shielding territory from <\/span>air and <\/span>missile attack.<\/span> The news comes as the Department of <\/span>Defence<\/span> and Royal Australian Air Force are under pressure to move faster <\/span>in implementing such a capability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Today, we announce our vision to cooperate on a networked air <\/span>defence<\/span> architecture among the United States, Japan and Australia to counter growing air and missile threats<\/span>,<\/span>\u2019<\/span> Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio <\/span>and <\/span>President <\/span>Joe <\/span>Biden <\/span>said <\/span>in a joint statement <\/span>this month as Fu<\/span>mio visited Washington.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span>y<\/span> also noted <\/span>that Japan may <\/span>be able to participate <\/span>in <\/span>advanced projects under Pillar <\/span>2 <\/span>of the AUKUS security pact <\/span>between Australia, <\/span>Britain and the United States<\/span>,<\/span> and <\/span>that the <\/span>US<\/span>, <\/span>Japan<\/span> and <\/span>Australia <\/span>could collaborate <\/span>on <\/span>autonomous air systems, particularly <\/span>collaborative combat aircraft. Finally, at a US-Japan bilateral level, <\/span>the statement <\/span>highlight<\/span>ed<\/span> joint development of the <\/span>Glide Phase Interceptor<\/span> to counter high-end, regional hypersonic threats.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot in there for Australia to think about<\/span> as it moves <\/span>towards <\/span>releasing <\/span>its <\/span>2024 <\/span>National Defence Strategy<\/span> and <\/span>an <\/span>accompanying <\/span>update to the <\/span>Integrated Investment Program<\/span> (IIP)<\/span>.<\/span> The first <\/span>thing to think about is <\/span>integrated air and missile <\/span>defence<\/span> (IAMD<\/span>).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In an earlier <\/span>article<\/span><\/a> I argued that Australia ha<\/span>d<\/span> fallen behind in<\/span> IAMD<\/span>. <\/span>Last year\u2019s <\/span>Defence<\/span> Strategic Review <\/span>identified the\u00a0<\/span>capability gap<\/span>, noting\u00a0<\/span>that a layered IAMD system<\/span>\u2014<\/span>comprising <\/span>a battle management <\/span>system<\/span>, <\/span>command and control network<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>sensors<\/span> and interceptor batteries<\/span>\u2014<\/span>must be delivered urgently. <\/span>\u2018Defence must reprioritise the delivery of a layered IAMD capability, allocating sufficient resources to the Chief of Air Force to deliver initial capability in a timely way and subsequently further develop the mature capability<\/span>,\u2019 it said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, the announcement for a <\/span>US-Japan-Australia partnership will hopefully encourage Defence and <\/span>the <\/span>government to prioritise IAMD in the IIP. <\/span>If Australia is <\/span>to pursue capabilities <\/span>for <\/span>its <\/span>strategy of <\/span>deterrence by denial<\/span>, <\/span>it must focus on more than <\/span>strike and power projection<\/span>. <\/span>We must hold a shield as well as a sword.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We saw an IAMD system impressively in action <\/span>on 14 April, when <\/span>the one wielded by <\/span>Israel<\/span><\/a>, supported by US, British and French forces, decisively defeated <\/span>an I<\/span>ranian <\/span>attack<\/span><\/a> by long-range drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles<\/span>. Had Israel <\/span>lacked <\/span>such a capability, <\/span>it might have suffered <\/span>high <\/span>casualties and extensive damage. Australia should learn the lesson and act quickly.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Australian e<\/span>fforts to develop IAMD <\/span>capability <\/span>have <\/span>dragged on. <\/span>Lockheed Martin is <\/span>leading<\/span><\/a> the development of <\/span>project <\/span>AIR 6500 Phase 1 which is a <\/span>j<\/span>oint <\/span>a<\/span>ir <\/span>b<\/span>attle <\/span>m<\/span>anagement <\/span>s<\/span>ystem that <\/span>will <\/span>sit at the <\/span>centre<\/span> of <\/span>the eventual <\/span>IAMD <\/span>capability<\/span>. It\u2019s <\/span>a good first step, but <\/span>the <\/span>IAMD <\/span>system must be <\/span>deplo<\/span>yed quickly<\/span>, rather than <\/span>be delayed by unnecessarily <\/span>high performance<\/span> objectives. <\/span>The emphasis must be on <\/span>minimum viable capability<\/span>, <\/span>not <\/span>one <\/span>perfect <\/span>system to rule them all<\/span> (eventually, at enormous cost)<\/span>. <\/span>That message was in<\/span> the DSR.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If Australia\u2019s strategic outlook were not rapidly deteriorating, <\/span>a more leisurely approach to develop<\/span>ing<\/span> IAMD could be justified. <\/span>But we <\/span>lack <\/span>time, <\/span>with <\/span>assessments <\/span>that <\/span>China could attempt <\/span>to seize Taiwan as early as the <\/span>second half of this decade<\/span> and prompt conflict with the U<\/span>nited States<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The quickest and safest path to deploying an operational IAMD capability is <\/span>by <\/span>military<\/span>–<\/span>off<\/span>–<\/span>the<\/span>–<\/span>shelf (MOTS) <\/span>acquisition<\/span> of the battle management <\/span>system, <\/span>command and control <\/span>network <\/span>and interceptor batteries. <\/span>Australia could simply buy a range of <\/span>systems <\/span>now available and operationally proven, such as <\/span>Lockheed Martin<\/span>\u2019s<\/span> MIM-104 Patriot<\/span> and <\/span>longer-range <\/span>THAAD. Alternatively, <\/span>we could improve the <\/span>short-range <\/span>NASAMS system <\/span>that <\/span>Norway\u2019s Kongsberg is <\/span>delivering for the army<\/span>. It uses\u00a0<\/span>AMRAAM interceptors<\/span> but <\/span>can accept integration of other, farther-flying <\/span>munitions<\/span>, such as the AMRAAM-ER with a range of 70km and Raytheon\u2019s SkyCeptor with a range of 200km.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So <\/span>Australia <\/span>has <\/span>a range of MOTS options to choose from<\/span>. AIR 6500 could <\/span>progressively <\/span>evolve from <\/span>an initial <\/span>array of MOTS systems<\/span>, providing <\/span>a stronger <\/span>IAMD capability <\/span>later. <\/span>Those advances would be importan<\/span>t<\/span>, <\/span>particularly <\/span>as the Chin<\/span>ese Rocket Force gains in <\/span>sophistication<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They <\/span>could be quickly introduced as part of the trilateral US-Japan-Australia <\/span>IAMD <\/span>effort<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Japanese cooperation with AUKUS Pillar <\/span>2<\/span>, particularly <\/span>any that add<\/span>resses <\/span>hypersonic threats<\/span>, might also contribute<\/span> to bolstering Australian IAMD capability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

H<\/span>ypersonic threats and the risk of increasingly sophisticated long-range<\/span> missiles <\/span>adaptable to <\/span>both <\/span>nuclear <\/span>and <\/span>conventional attack\u00a0<\/span>should also <\/span>present <\/span>a requirement for the US, Japan<\/span> and Australia to work together to counter strategic risks as part of an effort to strengthen US extended nuclear deterrence<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australia is joining the US and Japan in developing systems for shielding territory from air and missile attack. The news comes as the Department of Defence and Royal Australian Air Force are under pressure to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":86497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3111,17,2425,135,31],"class_list":["post-86496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-aukus","tag-australia","tag-defence-capability","tag-japan","tag-united-states"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAustralia\u2019s next step in integrated air and missile defence | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australias-next-step-in-integrated-air-and-missile-defence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australia\u2019s next step in integrated air and missile defence | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Australia is joining the US and Japan in developing systems for shielding territory from air and missile attack. 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