Australia to send missiles to UAE, deploy military surveillance aircraft

Australia plans to send missiles to the United Arab Emirates and will deploy a military surveillance aircraft to the Middle East, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday. He emphasized that Australia will not place troops on the ground in Iran. Albanese explained that this military support is meant to assist Gulf countries in defending themselves against unwarranted attacks from Iran, clarifying that Australia is "not a protagonist." He stated, "Our involvement is purely defensive," adding that it aims to protect Australians in the region as well as support friends in the United Arab Emirates. Albanese announced that Australia would send one of its Boeing E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft for an initial period of four weeks to safeguard the airspace over the Gulf nations. He also mentioned that advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles would be supplied to the UAE after a call with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The ongoing war has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage for a significant portion of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas as the conflict intensifies. Currently, about 115,000 Australians are in the Middle East, and since the conflict started 11 days ago, 2,600 Australians have returned home on commercial flights as several Gulf cities faced Iranian attacks.