ADF ‘stretched too thin and a strategic liability’ to our US allies, warns Peter Leahy

Former chief of army Peter Leahy has warned Australia has become a ‘strategic liability’ to the US, arguing the ADF is unprepared for war.

Former chief of army Peter Leahy. Picture: Kym Smith

Former chief of army Peter Leahy says Australia has become a “strategic liability” to the US, arguing that the nation’s military is “stretched too thin” and unprepared to fight at short notice.

He says the Australian Defence’s Force can’t rely on its “fighting spirit” alone, raising the alarm over the Albanese gov­ernment’s decision to prioritise ­future capabilities over immediate investments in weapons and equipment.

Writing in The Australian, Lieutenant General Leahy and fellow RSL national security committee member John Powers say the government cannot warn of urgent strategic challenges while putting off necessary investments to make the ADF “battle-ready”.

The critique follows indications by Richard Marles this week that the government would defer investments in missile protection for the nation’s Top End bases until at least the 2030s, relying on the US to provide the capability “in the here and now”.

While government reviews have warned that Australia may have little notice before a major conflict breaks out, the Defence Minister has also declared in recent months that “Australia’s challenge lies in the future” with investments to be focused on “next-generation capabilities”.

General Leahy and Mr Powers write: “You can’t have it both ways, especially when strategic guidance indicates our previous notion of ‘warning time’ has been reduced.”

They argue criticism of the quality and readiness of Australia’s military capabilities are “well founded”, saying the ADF is “stretched too thin and not fully equipped to meet all future potential missions”.

“Much of the criticism of the immediate state of the ADF is well founded and points to a force that is not fit for immediate combat and won’t be in better shape for some time. This is a significant strategic risk,” they write.

“There was a time our ‘niche’ Defence Force was structured and equipped for regional and disaster relief contingencies – those days are gone. To be a viable force today, the ADF must be a robust and capable force.

“Regrettably, those days have passed. We are a liability to ­ourselves and a strategic liability to our allies.”

The suggestion that Australia is overly reliant on the US could become a problem if Donald Trump wins the election, given the Republican nominee’s longstanding demands for allies to pull their weight.

Defence Minister Richard Marles and Chief of Air Force Stephen Chappell at RAAF Tindal in Darwin with the first of four unmanned MQ-4C Triton aircraft to be delivered to the service. Picture: ADF

General Leahy and Mr Powers point to US failures in opening battles of conflicts from the Revolutionary War to Vietnam because of inadequate preparations, drawing parallels with “Australia’s present pre­dicament”.

“Remember we were not prepared for Afghanistan and Iraq and struggled to get a force into place. The example of hastily deployed Australian forces to the Kokoda Track is a haunting reminder,” they say.

With memories of Afghanistan and Iraq now fading, “Australia must look forward to our next battles”, they write. “Government must restore the ADF’s combat readiness to deter and defend us now rather than putting it off into the future.”

The opinion piece follows a recent RSL policy paper warning that Australia’s promised nuclear-powered submarines “must not come at the expense of other capabilities required to increase resilience and preparedness for the full spectrum of challenges on the horizon”.

The government has argued it is investing record money on new Defence capabilities, but the AUKUS submarines and new naval frigates are consuming a huge share of the budget, forcing cuts to other capabilities including planned investments in air and missile defence batteries.

Speaking on Wednesday at the RAAF’s Tindal air base in the Northern Territory, which is being upgraded to host US B-52 bombers, Mr Marles indicated missile defence systems were not an immediate priority for the frontline facility.

Meanwhile, Australia’s new Chief of Defence Force David Johnston talked down the risk of conflict this week, saying there was no immediate threat of a war with China.

Asked by the ABC whether he was prepared to be a “wartime defence chief”, Admiral Johnston said: “We don’t think that scenario … is in our imminent future.”