Lost in space on satellite spending

Cutting corners on satellite capabilities for our defence needs is further proof the Albanese government is not serious in delivering on its core responsibility of national security. If defence experts are to be believed, spending $180m to repurpose and extend the life of a satellite launched in 2012 is a false economy. This is because it is using old technology that can be easily jammed, stopping the ability of our warships and F-35 fighters to communicate effectively.

The decision to persevere with the Intelsat IS-22 platform is the latest example of how defence spending is being compromised by essential plans to acquire the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines as well as expensive warships. Rather than make new provisions, the federal government is instead cannibalising existing programs to find the money that is needed.

As we have reported previously, dozens of workers tasked with maintaining and upgrading the RAAF’s F-35 stealth fighter jets have been redeployed as the ­nation’s most potent air capability is hit by a Defence-wide austerity drive. The ADF’s three service chiefs have told Defence Strategic Review lead Angus Houston they are being forced to slash their sustainment budgets, threatening the nation’s defence capabilities as China’s military might grows exponentially.

The latest example of penny-pinching on satellites is directly connected to the cancellation last year of the multi-satellite project known as JP9102 that had been in the works for a decade. At the time, Defence Minister Richard Marles downplayed the significance of the cancellation and said a better alternative would be found. But according to Australian Strategic Policy Institute analyst Malcolm Davis, the stopgap measure is “effectively a commercial satellite with a military transponder on it”.

The repurposed satellite lacks the defence capabilities of the advanced, extremely high frequency satellites or ultra-wideband satellites used by the US. Advances in technology have made space the vital new frontier for defence and it is somewhere that must be a priority area for defence spending.

It illustrates again why defence must be a higher budget priority for the federal government and AUKUS must represent an addition to military capabilities, not an alternative to other programs.