Defence’s controversial decision to rather than give them to Ukraine for its fight against Russia has focused attention on its military equipment disposal strategy,which experts say is no longer appropriate due to rising geopolitical tensions.
The Albanese government is breaking up its Taipan helicopters instead of donating them to Ukraine.Supplied
The Defence Force commonly scuttles naval vessels and buries military aircraft when they are retired from service or sells the equipment to friendly countries.
Former senior Defence Department official Michael Shoebridge said the war in Ukraine had demonstrated the importance of storing old military equipment for possible use even if it was no longer considered state-of-the-art.
“The Taipan issue has exposed a much bigger and more important issue for Australia and its Defence operation:What does it do with older,retired equipment now that a war is more likely than it has been in decades?” he said.
“Any sensible military is not throwing away or burying its old equipment;it’s putting it into mothballs to use when it is needed.
“Australia needs a mothballing and storage strategy for Defence,not a disposal strategy.”
Shoebridge,a director of Strategic Analysis Australia,said the Defence establishment was “stuck in policies from an era of unquestioned peace”,even as Defence Minister the nation is facing its most dangerous strategic circumstances since World War II.
The Defence Department was approached for comment.
The United States stores thousands of retired military aircraft at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group,commonly known as The Boneyard,in Arizona,regarded as a perfect location because of its arid climate.
Defence Minister Richard Marles has confirmed the currently-grounded ADF Taipan helicopters will not fly again by the time they are phased out next year.
Shoebridge pointed to Ukraine’s innovative use of the FrankenSAM air defence system,which combines the country’s Soviet-era equipment with modern Western-supplied missiles.
Supporters of Ukraine are aghast at the federal government’s decision to,which were,rather than accept a request to donate them to the Ukrainian military.
Marles said on Wednesday that Australia had agreed to sell parts of the helicopters to other nations before Ukraine’s request and the government would soon announce more. February 24 will mark the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Decommissioned Australian naval ship HMAS Adelaide was scuttled off Avoca Beach near Gosford in NSW in 2011.AP
Shoebridge said the disposal issue would flare up again with the scheduled retirement of the armed reconnaissance helicopter fleet from 2025 and the from 2027.
Retired army major-general Mick Ryan backed the idea of storing more retired equipment,saying the Defence Force could not be complacent about the possibility of conflict in the region.
“Australia has a very limited capacity to respond in case of a strategic shock,” he said.
Ryan said the fact it was considered cheaper to dispose of old military equipment and sell off spare parts to other countries was the reason Defence had preferred the strategy.
“It’s all about cost,” he said.
Shoebridge agreed,saying:“It costs money to mothball and store things.”
A 2015 Australian National Audit Office report found the nation’s major military disposals had a “largely disappointing history”,including the costly scuttling of two frigates as dive wrecks.
Twenty-three RAAF F-111 bombers were buried at a landfill site in Queensland after the fleet was retired in 2010.
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