$1bn Tindal base in NT for  jet fighters as F-35 rollout fast-tracked

A forward base for US aircraft, includin­g bombers, forms part of a bold strategic plan to meet China’s expansion.

Aerial view of RAAF Base Tindal.

Australia will step up its strat­egic push in the Indo-Pacific­ with a $1.1bn upgrade to RAAF Base Tindal­ in the Top End, to fast-track the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter rollout and provide a forward operati­ng base for US aircraft, includin­g strategic bombers.

The announcement, signed off by the national security committee of cabinet last week, marks a significant expansion in the reach of air force capability into the region and signals a more assertiv­e Australia-US posture as China continues to expand its strategi­c footprint into the region.

The Australian understands that major runway extensions, fuel stockpiles and engineering will be designed to support “Code E” large aircraft, such as US Air Force B-52 strategic bombers and RAAF KC-30 air-to-air refuellers to ­operate out of one of the country’s most strategically significant air­bases, located at Katherine in the Northern Territory.

It will also considerably boost the ability of RAAF and USAF aircraft — including fifth-generation strike fighters — to conduct joint operations and training exercises in the Indo-Pacific.

There has been increasing concern among strategic experts that the US was losing its military “primacy­” in the region amid aggressiv­e Chinese expansion. Former top brass have also called for a massive increase in Australian air power.

The government claims the decisio­n to radically upsize Tindal would deliver a “potent air combat capability from the Northern Territory” through expanded air co-operation under the US Force Posture Initiatives agreement with Australia.

Scott Morrison said the significant airfield upgrades, a key project contained in the Defence White Paper, would be “integral to our alliance with the United States, and increase the reach of air force capabilities in the Indo-Pacific’’.

“As part of these upgrades, RAAF Base Tindal will be able to deliver enhanced air-to-air refuelling and air support capabilities, ensuring we can support critical ADF operations — everything from air combat missions through to responding to natural disasters, both at home and throughout our region,” the Prime Minister said.

Mr Morrison told The Australian the $1.1bn spending comes on top of almost $500m that had ­already been planned for Tindal.

Under the US Force Posture Initiative signed in 2011 by the ­Gillard government and Obama administration, the US and Austral­ia committed to joint funding for military infrastructure project­s of about $2bn.

This included an increase in the annual rotation of US marines through Darwin to about 2000. The Tindal program will be funded under Australia’s contrib­ution, after the US announced it would spend $305m in upgrading infrastructure in Darwin.

“It complements all the things we are doing, strategically, economically, it is part of everything we are doing … stepping up to the mark on what we have to do,” Mr Morrison said.

“These are (the) sorts of things you can do when you manage money well and invest in priorities of keeping Australia safe and building the capability of our defenc­e forces.”

The defence build will require parliamentary approval through the public works committee and would then be expected to enter the completion phase by 2027.

Last year, Australia and the US scaled up the Enhanced Air Co-operation agreement. That involved the integration of fifth-gener­ation fighters, including the USAF F-22 Raptors, as well as joint aeromedical evacuation train­ing and integrated aircraft maintenance activities.

The government has earmarked $8bn in spending over the next 10 years on defence in the Top End. The promise to return­ defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP, made under the Abbot­t government, is expected to be met by next year.

Both the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and United States Studies Centre warned last year that Australia had to dramatically increase its defence infrastructure in northern Australia, which was “underdone”, and change its posture against China’s push into the Indo-Pacific.

ASPI warned of a widening gap between the strategic policy and military infrastructure and assets in northern Australia.

Mr Morrison has made the Indo-Pacific Australia’s strategic priority.

The bulk of the Tindal redevelopment will go towards upgrading the airfield, extending the runway to handle the US B-52 long-range bombers and extra fuel storage facilities.