Toward Programme
To beat cheap drones, Australia must make cheap interceptors – quickly
Why it matters
The article argues Australia must rapidly reorient its GWEO munitions program away from expensive multi-million-dollar interceptors toward cheap drone-based counter-air systems, reflecting a fundamental shift in air-defence economics exposed by Ukraine and Iran conflicts. This directly affects Australia's maritime and air-defence posture against proliferating cheap strike-drone threats that China and regional adversaries may deploy, requiring accelerated domestic manufacturing capacity and technical mobilisation.
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