With the commitment of 600 Australians to the United Arab Emirates in preparation for combat against IS militants in Iraq, it seems likely the Al Minhad Air Base is set to become their home.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the United States had requested Australia contribute to an international strike against the militants, who have captured large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

Mr Abbott said around 200 troops would be sent to the UAE within days, including a special forces contingent "that could act as military advisers to the Iraqi armed forces or to the Peshmerga".

Mr Abbott said Australia was "not deploying combat troops but contributing to international efforts to prevent the humanitarian crisis from deepening".

Al Minhad has been used in the aid air drops into parts of Iraq. ( Australian Defence Force )

"Again I stress that this is essentially a humanitarian operation to protect millions of people in Iraq from the murderous rage of the ISIL movement," he said, using an alternative name for IS.

"Again I stress that this movement is neither Islamic nor a state. It is a death cult reaching out to countries such as Australia.

"This is about taking prudent and proportionate action to protect our country and to protect the wider world against an unprecedented terrorist threat."

Mr Abbott said Cabinet and the National Security Committee met on Sunday to discuss the matter.

He said the action was part of an international coalition, "not simply something that is an American-Australian operation".

Australia's base of operations in the Middle East

Australia's operating hub in the UAE, the Al Minhad base, is not technically an Australian base.

The collection of prefab huts and aircraft hangars sits on the dusty edge of a massive runway at the base, which is operated by the UAE air force.

Like a number of other countries who have been engaged in various operations in the Middle East, Australia has been using this as a regional headquarters.

Since 2008 Al Minhad has been the ADF's main transport and logistics hub for its Middle East operations. ( ABC: Kathy McLeish )

It is from this base that Australia has been providing humanitarian aid air drops to refugees displaced by IS in Iraq.

Since 2008 Al Minhad has been the ADF's main transport and logistics hub for its Middle East operations, after shifting from Baghdad as a result of the withdrawal of Australian combat forces from Iraq.

It is a joint Army, Navy and Air Force operation that supports surveillance and transport aircraft as well as Australian naval vessels operating in Gulf waters.

Al Minhad has served as the Middle East base for the RAAF's Orion maritime patrol aircraft since 2003, but it was not until 2008 that a special Status of Forces Agreement was signed with the UAE that allowed Australia to consolidate its operational hub there.

C-130 Hercules aircraft regularly shuttled personnel and equipment to Afghanistan from Al Minhad. ( ADF: Cpl Janine Fabre )

By the end of 2008, as many as 500 Australian military personnel were permanently based at Al Minhad.

Since then it has operated as a staging post for personnel going into and coming out of Afghanistan. A place to acclimatise, to train, and then decompress.

Australian C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster aircraft were regularly shuttling personnel and equipment from there to Tarin Kowt and other areas of operation in Afghanistan.

After the Government's announcement, Australian Super Hornets, an aerial refuelling aircraft and an early-warning and control aircraft will also operate from there.

Al Minhad is also used as a place for Australian personnel to train. ( ADF: WO2 Rob Nyffenegger )

Australia's military presence in the UAE is reliant on our good relations and solid relationship with the ruling family, particularly the president Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

He has visited Australia a number of times, and Australian prime ministers have regularly dropped in for formal and informal meetings with him on their way to and from visits to the troops in Afghanistan.

It is understood there are limits to what the emirates will allow us to do there, but the planned deployment announced by Mr Abbott is obviously within those limits.

US secretary of state John Kerry has also been involved in talks with regional allies like the UAE, and it is believed agreements and requirements for any future military action in the region will be discussed at the special United Nations meeting in New York on September 24.