Eight ‘potent and highly versatile’ P-8A Poseidon planes to be delivered between 2017 and 2021, replacing AP-3C Orions

Tony Abbott has confirmed Australia’s $4bn purchase of eight new military aircraft, saying the defence of the nation was a government’s most important priority.



The prime minister announced on Friday that his government had approved the acquisition of eight P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft, to be delivered between 2017 and 2021. They will replace the air force’s AP-3C Orions.

Abbott said the government had also approved an option for a further four aircraft subject to the pending defence white paper review.

The “potent and highly versatile aircraft” would patrol Australia’s maritime approaches and conduct search and rescue, anti-submarine and maritime strike missions using torpedoes and Harpoon missiles.

“The first duty of government is the defence of the nation,” Abbott said during a visit to the 34 squadron in Canberra on Friday.

“This is a government which is absolutely committed to the border security of this country. Yes, these are maritime strike aircraft; yes, they are anti-submarine aircraft; but they are also border security aircraft with an enormous capacity to surveil our oceans as required.”

Abbott, who made his pledge to prevent asylum seeker boats from reaching Australia at the centre of his election pitch, was asked to confirm that the aircraft would track such vessels.

The prime minister said the aircraft would be used for border protection but the first one was due to be in service in 2017 “and I think the boats will be stopped by then”.

He said up to $1bn of the $4bn cost would be available to be spent in Australia, both on work associated with the aircraft and on work associated with RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia, where the aircraft would be stationed.

Asked about any link to China’s naval exercise this month to the north of Australia, Abbott said the P-8A Poseidon was a “long planned acquisition”. He said the first pass approval had been given in mid 2007 and second pass approval was given recently because of the need to ensure the program was fully functional.

“We are a friendly nation,” Abbott said. “We have nothing but goodwill for the wider world but it is important that we are able, if needs be, that we are able to defend our nation; it’s important if needs be that we are able to work in concert with our friends and allies.”

The chief of the air force, Air Marshal Geoff Brown, said the Poseidon was “the world’s most advanced maritime patrol aircraft” and would “certainly help the Royal Australian navy to be able to have freedom of manoeuvre right through our region for the next 20 or 30 years”.

The US ambassador to Australia, John Berry, said the acquisition would “improve our ability to work together to provide humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and to ensure our mutual security in the Asia-Pacific region”. He said the two countries had been working on the plans for years.

A spokesman for Australia’s defence minister, David Johnston, said the program’s $4bn cost was “fully funded and budgeted under the defence capability plan”.

At the joint media conference, Johnston said the aircraft would provide the country with ”phenomenal strategic capability” and South Australia was the principal beneficiary of the platform.

South Australia’s economy has come under strain as carmakers wind down local manufacturing. Voters will head to the polls next month for a state election.

Abbott said there was no contradiction between his hardline stance against industry assistance amid tough budget times and the decision to spend $4bn on the new defence aircraft.

“There’s a world of difference between spending money on the essential purposes of government – and there’s no more essential purpose of government than national security – and giving money to provide businesses to sustain them in business because they can’t sustain themselves through their ordinary operations,” he said. “I just think they’re too completely different things.”

The shadow defence minister, Stephen Conroy, welcomed Abbott’s announcement, saying it confirmed the approach outlined by Labor when in government.

Labor’s assistant defence spokesman, David Feeney, said the government should “maintain close engagement on the acquisition to ensure some of the development issues with the P-8 are resolved prior to the aircraft being introduced into our inventory”.

The P-8As are based on the Boeing 737-800 fuselage but include a bomb bay and under-wing and under-fuselage hard points for weapons, and are strengthened to allow low-level flying and 60-degree bank turns, according to a description on the air force website.

They are capable of conducting low-level anti submarine warfare missions for more than four hours at a range of 2200km from base, the summary says.

The Rudd government’s 2009 defence white paper said the government would “acquire eight new maritime patrol aircraft to replace the current AP-3C Orion fleet”.

The Gillard government’s 2013 defence white paper confirmed Australia’s intention to use P-8A Poseidon aircraft “complemented by unmanned aircraft capable of undertaking broad-area maritime surveillance and fleet overwatch”.