Australia and Japan are intensifying defense-industrial collaboration, focusing on the joint development and production of long-range missiles and drones, Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles announced. The move comes amid pressure on U.S. weapon stockpiles due to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Marles, also Australia’s deputy prime minister, highlighted the need for co-production and shared industrial capacity to ensure sufficient war stocks. He identified opportunities for Japanese industry to contribute to Australia’s missile and drone programs, while also integrating maintenance and sustainment of shared platforms such as F-35 jets and Chinook helicopters.
“To gain the levels of war stocks that our defense forces need … we are simply going to have to cooperate much more together in terms of co-production and co-sustainment,” Marles told The Japan Times in Tokyo ahead of a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi.
“When you look at what’s going on in the world today … it puts into sharp relief the importance of our combined industrial bases having greater output,” Marles said in an exclusive interview.
Key developments:
• Australia plans to acquire 11 Japanese upgraded Mogami-class frigates, marking Japan’s largest postwar defense export.
• Bilateral exercises in 2026 include F-35 deployments and large-scale infantry operations in Queensland.
• Japan may ease defense export restrictions, enabling lethal equipment sales and joint development projects.
• Partnerships aim to strengthen Indo-Pacific security networks with the U.S., Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.
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