PM of Australia sends E-7A Wedgetail and air-to-air missiles to UAE

Thursday, March 12, 2026  

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that, in response to United Arab Emirates call for help, Australia would deploy E-7A Wedgetail, a long-range reconnaissance plane, to help Gulf Arab states defend against attacks from Iran.

The Australian Defence Force said the plane is able to survey 4 million square kilometers with a powerful radar. Government officials said the plane would be manned by around 85 Australian defence force (ADF) personnel. Additionally, Australia would supply middle range air to air missiles, at the request of United Arab Emirates, that could down enemy's drones.

Foreign affairs correspondent at ABC News, Stephen Dziedzic, published a piece on Wednesday noting that from a legal perspective, Australia is at war. He stated that not being an attacker, and not entering Iran, did not preclude Australia from joining a war. The correspondent referenced article 51 from United Nations charter about "collective self-defence", which could involve, for example, providing support or intelligence to one of the participants of a war. The correspondent raised concern that move could make Australia a potential target for attacks from, for example, Iran.

• Stephen Dziedzic. The government is not speaking plainly about joining the war effort in the Middle East — ABC News (Australia), March 10, 2026
• Erin Hale. Australia to send missiles to UAE, surveillance plane to help Gulf defence — Al Jazeera, March 10, 2026
• Tom Lowrey. What is a Wedgetail? And why is Australia sending missiles to the Iran conflict? — ABC News (Australia), March 9, 2026