United States Air Force to build “Squadron Operations Facility” in Northern Australia
A United States Air Force “Squadron Operations Facility” will be constructed at Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal, in Darwin, Australia.
The facility will be used for “mission planning, intelligence, crew briefings and crew readiness”, and will add to the already heavy US presence in Northern Australia.
The base being built in the Northern Territory is part of the US Department of Defense’s “Pacific Deterrence Initiative” (PDI) within the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) to “blunt” the “pacing threat” to the United States and its allies, the pacing threat being China.
The US DoD is projected to invest around $US26 billion in infrastructure for the PDI, with further investment from the Philippines of $US500 million, Australia with USD$1.5 billion, and other smaller Pacific countries with investments totalling $US1.7 billion from them.
The Squadrons Operations Facility itself in Darwin is projected to cost $US26 million. The facility is required to “support strategic operations” and “run multiple 15-day training operations” for the USAF B-52 bombers deployed at RAAF Tindal.
It was revealed by the ABC in 2022 that the United States Air Force is planning to build facilities at RAAF Base Tindal to support the B-52 bombers, which are nuclear capable. The US is building a parking apron which is expected to cost $US258 million.
“This is about deterring a conflict and the best way to do this is through collective military power” says director of Strategic Analysis Australia, a think tank, Michael Shoebridge.
There has been little information released about the new initiatives by the Australian Government, but one thing for sure is that it demonstrates Australia’s close relationship with the United States, and the possibility of Australia being drawn into a US war with China, if it were to happen, is looking more real.