Australia Plans Reconnaissance Plane Deployment to Gulf Region

Australia – (Web Desk) – Australia will send a long range military surveillance plane to the Gulf to help protect civilians. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shared the plan on Tuesday.

An E 7A Wedgetail aircraft and defence personnel will be deployed for about four weeks. Their job will be to watch the skies and help keep the airspace over the Gulf safe. The prime minister announced the move during a press briefing.

Australia will also supply advanced medium range air to air missiles to the United Arab Emirates after the country asked for support.

Albanese said the UAE has already stopped more than 1,500 rockets and drones launched by Iran. These attacks came after strikes carried out by the United States and Israel.

He said the decision to send the aircraft came after talks with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Albanese stressed that keeping Australians safe is always the government’s top goal. About 24,000 Australians currently live in the UAE.

The prime minister also made it clear that Australia is not taking part in any offensive action against Iran. He said Australian troops will not be sent to fight on Iranian land.

Officials say around 115,000 Australians are across the Middle East. So far about 2,600 have already returned home. The government says it is still working to help others who want to leave the region.

Last week Australia sent a heavy transport plane and a fuel aircraft to the Middle East to support evacuation efforts. Canberra has also repeated that its forces are not involved in attacks against Iran.

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Albanese also revealed that some Australian military personnel were on a United States submarine when it sank an Iranian navy ship near Sri Lanka. He said they were there only for training under the AUKUS defence pact with the United Kingdom and the United States, and they did not take part in the strike.