Australia will deploy a Wedgetail surveillance aircraft to help secure Gulf airspace and protect civilians. Photo / Getty Images
Australia will deploy a Wedgetail surveillance aircraft to help secure Gulf airspace and protect civilians. Photo / Getty Images
Australia will deploy a long-range military reconnaissance plane to the Gulf to protect civilians, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today.
An E-7A Wedgetail aircraft and supporting defence force personnel will be sent for an initial period of four weeks to help “protect and secure the airspace above the Gulf”, Albanesetold a news conference.
Australia also plans to provide advanced, medium-range air-to-air missiles to the United Arab Emirates “in response to a request”, the Prime Minister said.
The UAE, in which there are an estimated 24,000 Australians, has shot down more than 1500 rockets and drones fired by Iran in reprisal following United States-Israeli strikes, he said.
Albanese said he decided to send the advanced radar surveillance plane to the Gulf following a discussion with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“The first priority of my government is, and always will be, to keep Australians safe,” the Prime Minister said.
“Helping Australians means also helping the UAE and other Gulf nations to defend themselves against what are unprovoked attacks,” he added.
“My government has been clear that we’re not taking offensive action against Iran, and we’ve been clear that we are not deploying Australian troops on the ground in Iran.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Photo / Getty Images
The Government says there are about 115,000 Australian nationals across the Middle East, of whom about 2600 have returned home.
“Significant challenges remain, and further work is underway to support those still seeking to leave,” Albanese said.
Australia said last week that it had deployed a heavy transport plane and a fuel transport plane to the Middle East as part of plans to get its citizens out of the region.
Canberra has been careful to make it clear that its forces are not engaging in offensive operations against Iran.
On Friday, Albanese revealed that Australian military personnel were aboard an American submarine that sank an Iranian Navy ship off Sri Lanka.
The personnel were on the submarine as part of training arrangements under Aukus, a multi-decade defence pact with Britain and the US, he said, stressing that they did not take part in the attack.
