Set against the backdrop of growing regional tension, major work is being carried out to defence facilities across Australia and a significant portion falls under the umbrella of the US Force Posture Initiative.

The most recent additions to the overarching USFPI occurred in 2023 with the signing of an Enhanced Space Cooperation agreement, together with a commitment to conducting more regular and longer-duration visits of US Navy nuclear submarines, and increased rotations of US Navy maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.

Looking to the future, the most recent round of bilateral discussions (AUSMIN 24) agreed to progress the redevelopment of northern air bases – primarily Darwin and Tindal – but to begin scoping the RAAF’s bare bases across the north of the country in the form of RAAF Curtin and Learmonth in Western Australia, and Scherger in Queensland.

The upcoming AUSMIN 25 dialogue will further outline steps to enhance the FPI and grow the defence infrastructure footprint across the country. It will lead to a number of announcements in regard to the next steps in force posture activities within Australia.