Australia gets the ball rolling on medium-range air defense

PERTH, Australia — To protect a whole continent, Australia has only a regiment’s worth of NASAMS short-range air defense systems. Recognizing this is not nearly enough, Canberra has launched a formal tender for a medium-range, ground-based air defense solution for the Australian Army.

The Department of Defence launched an industry solicitation for the project, christened Project Land 6504, on Oct. 13. The potential deal has already attracted interest globally, with vendors from Europe, Israel, South Korea, Turkey and the United States eying the requirement Down Under.

A primary motivation for filling the gaping hole in Australian defenses is China’s rising military prowess. Alarming many, the People’s Liberation Army sent a naval task group to circumnavigate Australia in early 2025, and then China fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the South Pacific in July this year.

With China possessing the world’s most diverse missile arsenal, Australia knows it needs better defenses. Land 6504 is therefore looking for a defensive system capable of shooting down ballistic missiles in their terminal phase of flight, as well as address subsonic air-breathing threats.

The National Defence Strategy 2026 prioritized missile defense, calling for “accelerated introduction of medium-range, ground-based, active missile defense through investment in missile launchers and munitions and integrating them with the Australian Defence Force’s command-and-control systems.”

This envisioned off-the-shelf system is expected to be a “proven capability,” contributing to a national, integrated system, the solicitation reads.

South Korea's Hanwha advertised its L-SAM air defense system at the Land Forces 2026 exhibition in Perth, Australia, in early October 2026. (Gordon Arthur)

Money is a perennial problem, however, as AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines soak up available defense funds.

But perhaps the greatest risk is the lightning speed at which this Australian project is moving. Final selection of the vendor is to occur by the end of 2027. The solution is to perform live-firing in Exercise Talisman Saber in mid-2029, and an initial operational capability achieved in the early 2030s.

Importantly, the expeditionary air-defense system must integrate with radars from CEA Technologies and the Joint Air Battle Management System being developed by Lockheed Martin Australia.

Because of the time constraints, Canberra is pursuing direct commercial sale and U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) avenues simultaneously.

The timing of the tender may boost the chances of non-American missile suppliers, as the U.S. grapples with depleted magazines after expending large amounts of missiles in its conflict with Iran.

A recent Congressional Research Service report warned , “Finite U.S. industrial base capacity introduces trade-offs between filling FMS orders and replenishing U.S. stockpiles. FMS delivery delays may result in cancellations, potentially affecting U.S. and partner interoperability and integration.”

Other options are available, however. For example, Australia could add AMRAAM-ER extended-range missiles to its existing NASAMS.

John Fry, managing director of Kongsberg Australia, told Defense News : “We’re definitely interested in that program. I think the great thing with the NASAMS architecture is Kongsberg and Raytheon are evolving that into full-spectrum air defense.”

Elsewhere, Lockheed Martin Australia fired an SM-2 missile from a trailer launcher in June, utilizing the Aegis combat system and a CEA radar. This demonstrated how a hybrid air defense system can make use of components already available in Australia.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

澳大利亚珀斯——为了保护整个大陆，澳大利亚仅配备了一个团的NASAMS短程防空系统。堪培拉方面意识到这远远不够，已正式启动招标，为澳大利亚陆军采购一套中程地面防空解决方案。

10 月 13 日，美国国防部启动了名为“陆地 6504 项目”的行业招标。这项潜在的交易已经引起了全球的关注，来自欧洲、以色列、韩国、土耳其和美国的供应商都对澳大利亚的需求虎视眈眈。

填补澳大利亚国防巨大漏洞的一个主要动机是中国日益增强的军事实力。令许多人感到担忧的是，中国人民解放军于2025年初派遣一支海军特遣舰队环绕澳大利亚航行，随后中国又于今年7月向南太平洋发射了一枚洲际弹道导弹。

鉴于中国拥有世界上最多样化的导弹库，澳大利亚深知自身需要更强大的防御能力。因此，陆基6504项目正在寻求一种能够在弹道导弹末段将其击落，并能应对亚音速吸气式导弹威胁的防御系统。

《2026 年国防战略》将导弹防御列为优先事项，呼吁“通过投资导弹发射器和弹药，并将其与澳大利亚国防军的指挥控制系统相结合，加快引入中程陆基主动导弹防御”。

招标书中写道，设想中的现成系统有望成为一项“经过验证的能力”，为国家一体化系统做出贡献。

韩国韩华公司于2026年10月初在澳大利亚珀斯举行的“陆军2026”展览会上展示了其L-SAM防空系统。（戈登·阿瑟）

然而，资金始终是个问题，因为 AUKUS 核动力潜艇消耗了大量的国防资金。

但或许最大的风险在于这个澳大利亚项目推进速度之快。供应商的最终选定将于2027年底完成。解决方案是在2029年中期的“护身军刀”演习中进行实弹射击，并在2030年代初实现初步作战能力。

重要的是，远征防空系统必须与 CEA Technologies 的雷达以及洛克希德·马丁澳大利亚公司正在开发的联合空中作战管理系统相集成。

由于时间紧迫，堪培拉正在同时寻求直接商业销售和美国对外军售（FMS）途径。

此次招标的时机可能会提高非美国导弹供应商的中标几率，因为美国在与伊朗的冲突中消耗了大量导弹，导致其导弹库空空如也。

美国国会研究服务处最近的一份报告警告说：“美国有限的工业基础产能使得满足对外军售订单和补充美国库存之间需要权衡取舍。对外军售订单的交付延迟可能导致订单取消，进而可能影响美国及其合作伙伴的互操作性和一体化。”

不过，还有其他选择。例如，澳大利亚可以在现有的NASAMS系统中加入AMRAAM-ER增程型导弹。

康斯伯格澳大利亚公司总经理约翰·弗莱告诉《防务新闻》：“我们绝对对这个项目感兴趣。我认为NASAMS架构最棒的地方在于，康斯伯格和雷神公司正在将其发展成为全方位防空系统。”

此外，洛克希德·马丁澳大利亚公司于6月使用拖车式发射器发射了一枚SM-2导弹，该导弹配备了宙斯盾作战系统和CEA雷达。这表明混合防空系统如何利用澳大利亚现有的组件。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。