STRAIT OF HORMUZ — Australia will deploy an E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft to join a multinational military mission led by the United Kingdom and France to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Defence Minister Richard Marles announced the contribution after joining an overnight meeting of defence ministers from 40 other countries to discuss global efforts to reopen the waterway. At the meeting, ministers resolved to support collective diplomatic, economic and military capabilities to safeguard freedom of navigation through the strait.

"Australia stands ready to support an independent and strictly defensive multinational military mission, led by the United Kingdom and France, once it is established," Marles said. "Our intention is to contribute Australia's world-leading E-7A Wedgetail aircraft to this defensive effort."

The Wedgetail was deployed to the United Arab Emirates in March in a defensive capacity to help protect Gulf nations from Iranian attacks. The aircraft is accompanied by approximately 85 Australian Defence Force staff and has been feeding information and intelligence back to the Combined Air Operations Centre in Qatar. According to defence officials, the Wedgetail is not assisting the United States in offensive capabilities.

The deployment was initially scheduled for four weeks and has been extended once. In April, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the extended deployment would initially be for an additional four weeks. The aircraft is now likely to remain in the region for some time, and the same Wedgetail in the UAE would likely be redeployed to the Strait of Hormuz if needed. Australia has a fleet of several Wedgetail aircraft.

Marles said a defensive military mission would be required to safeguard freedom of navigation through the strait. "Looking forward, this is really our most consequential stake risk: that a future adversary would seek coerce Australia by those disrupting sea lanes," he said.

In March, the government announced it would provide advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (Amraams) to the UAE. The 2025–26 federal budget allocated $6.6 million for the missiles for use in self-defence and included a boost of $53 billion to defence spending over the coming decade. The UAE launched a major attack on Iran during the conflict, including targeting a refinery on Lavan Island in early April.