Australia will powerfully strengthen and reorient its defense forces in the face of a rising China that it expects to wield an increasingly long reach.

Assessing risks in the changing Asian balance of power out to 2030, a defense white paper sets out plans for land-attack missiles as a strategic strike force based on a fleet of larger and more numerous warships.

One-for-one replacement of the country's combat aircraft, previously only an aspiration of the Royal Australian Air Force, has now become formal government policy. The document reaffirms the choice of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning, saying Australia will buy about 100 of the stealthy fighters, beginning with an order for at least 72 to replace F/A-18 Hornets bought in the 1980s.

A later batch will replace 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets that Australia will introduce next year as stopgaps to cover the retirement of General Dynamics F-111 strike bombers.

Up to seven large, long-endurance drones and eight Boeing P-8 Poseidons will take over the maritime patrol mission from P-3Cs, and the country also plans to deploy a surveillance satellite, as part of a fledgling space effort (see article below). Data from the satellite, which will probably have synthetic aperture radar, will be shared with the U.S.

Data-network protection will move to the foreground with the establishment of a cybersecurity operations center. New data architecture will share information between units across all three services, and the government says it will enhance intelligence-gathering capability in "a number of mostly classified projects."

A requirement for at least 24 naval helicopters is confirmed, but the air force transport fleet will be smaller than expected (AW&ST Mar. 28, p. 53). Ten light transports will replace 14 old de Havilland Canada Caribous, and only two more Lockheed Martin C-130Js will be bought as 12 C-130Hs are retired.

As part of a major buildup of the navy, three destroyers under construction will get Raytheon SM-6 surface-to-air missiles, whose targeting data may come from Boeing Wedgetail airborne-early-warning aircraft already on order.

A planned addition of two infantry battalions to Australia's small army will continue, and the ground force's six Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopters will be replaced with seven CH-47Fs.

The white paper is stuffed with so many plans for new and improved capabilities that analysts are not sure they can all be paid for.