Interoperability key to security of our region

Without a high level of interoperability, well-aligned coalitions can face significant hurdles. Australia is committed to strengthening our forces with allies across multiple fronts.

Three RAAF F-35A Lightning II aircraft transit to Japan for the first time for the biennial Exercise Bushido Guardian 2023. Picture: Lockheed Martin

Earlier this year, F-35 Lightning II aircraft from Japan, the US, and Australia flew together for the first time during Exercise Cope North 25 in Guam. This milestone reinforced a critical reality: our ability to operate seamlessly with allies will define our strategic edge as regional threats evolve.

Interoperability extends beyond using the same platforms. It allows joint and coalition forces to function as a unified entity – integrating command and control networks, aligning self-protection systems, and sharing sensor data to improve targeting and situational awareness. It is built upon common doctrines, training, and operational philosophies that enable forces to operate effectively together.

Exercises like Cope North 25 provide an invaluable proving ground for these capabilities in realistic conditions, strengthening the collective operational readiness of allied forces. Interoperability enhances operational effectiveness by reducing friction and maximising the scale and mass a coalition combat force can bring to bear. Without a high level of interoperability, even well-aligned coalitions can face significant hurdles – differences in equipment, languages, and operating paradigms all have the potential to diminish the effectiveness of collective capabilities.

Australia is committed to strengthening interoperability with allies across multiple fronts. This includes acquiring platforms in service with our allies such as F-35s, EA-18G Growlers, C-130Js, P-8 Poseidons, KC-30s, MH-60R Seahawks, C-17s, UH-60 Black Hawks, Apaches, Chinooks, AEGIS-equipped surface vessels, HIMARS launchers, and in the future, AUKUS submarines. But equipment alone is not enough. Aligning sustainment capabilities with our partners is just as important.

Warren McDonald, CEO Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand.

Critically, sovereign maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities are being expanded to support both Australian and allied forces. By developing local industry expertise, investing in hi-tech repair facilities, and integrating into global supply chains, Australia bolsters its ability to sustain deployed forces at scale. This includes exploring ways to deepen domestic supply chain participation, so local businesses can manufacture and support advanced components. Such efforts reduce logistical bottlenecks, shorten turnaround times, and ultimately strengthen the collective force posture across the Indo-Pacific.

One prime example of Australia’s interoperability efforts is the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which as a multinational partner program embodies the concept at every turn. By design, its sensors, mission systems, and sustainment architecture are interchangeable, creating an unprecedented level of co-ordination across multinational services for an air combat platform. The F-35’s sensor fusion and targeting capabilities reinforce its role as a force multiplier. It allows for the seamless sharing of targeting information between platforms and allied forces, significantly improving situational awareness and cooperative engagement.

Within Australia’s joint force, F-35s can work within a C2 architecture of sensors and platforms to co-ordinate targeting, demonstrating deep integration across domains.

Transnationally, the potential for this capability extends further – an Australian F-35 could provide targeting data for missiles launched from allied forces’ air, land and maritime vessels, illustrating the profound operational effect of full interoperability. Previous-generation aircraft required extensive support equipment and personnel when deployed for exercises.

Today, interoperability allows allied forces to tap into each other’s sustainment ecosystems, streamlining operations and increasing efficiency. Red Flag exercises have demonstrated the advantages of this approach – for the recent Red Flag 25-1 Australia pre-deployed F-35 aircraft to the US, leveraging their industrial capacity to complete scheduled maintenance tasks. Likewise, when US and allied forces operate in Australia, they can leverage Australia’s regional sustainment capabilities. Once an Australian-made F-35 part enters the global sustainment pool, it could just as easily be installed on a US or Japanese jet, ensuring high operational availability across the fleet. With more than 330 F-35s expected to be in service across the Indo-Pacific by 2035, the need for efficient and integrated sustainment will only grow.

The F-35 will be a cornerstone of coalition operations in the Indo Pacific for decades to come and the partnerships it embodies will be key to continued deterrence in the face of rising regional tensions. As those threats continue to evolve, maintaining air dominance will require leveraging every advantage. More than a decade of work by Skunk Works has enabled secure communication between fighters and with unmanned systems, with AI autonomy making it possible for next-generation aircraft and drones to perform complex missions together. Recent demonstrations show that the F-35 can securely control drones, including future Collaborative Combat Aircraft, by leveraging AI-driven autonomy and advanced data-sharing architectures. By seamlessly integrating with other assets – such as allied command and control systems or unmanned platforms – the F-35 shortens decision cycles, strengthens combined force capabilities, and ensures that allied air forces maintain a decisive advantage in contested environments.

Australia and its allies must remain committed to strengthening interoperability across all domains. Maintaining common standards, training, and sustainment and operational frameworks remains the surest path to readiness.

By reinforcing interoperability at every level, we safeguard collective interests and maintain the strategic edge required to uphold a stable and secure Indo-Pacific region.

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Warren McDonald is chief executive, Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand