Australian Defence Force

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is Australia's combined military organisation, comprising the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), with approximately 59,000 active personnel and 27,000 reserves. It is commanded by the Chief of the Defence Force, reporting to the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Defence Industry. The ADF operates under a significant capability modernisation programme following the 2023 Defence Strategic Review, which identified Australia's strategic circumstances as the most challenging since the Second World War. In April 2026 the ADF became the end user of the first counter-drone systems contracted under the Australian Government's ASCA Mission Syracuse programme: the Fractl high-powered laser and the Corvo Strike loitering interceptor, both integrating into the ADF's Land 156 battle management network.

The ADF's counter-drone requirement was formalised in the 2026 Integrated Investment Program (IIP), which committed A$22 billion across drone, counter-drone, and autonomous-systems capability over the next decade, a 69% increase on the 2024 IIP. This placed Australia as the third major national c-UAS programme behind the US and UK in terms of committed government spending. The Land 156 network integration requirement for all ASCA Mission Syracuse systems signals that counter-drone capability is being built as a networked ADF-wide architecture rather than service-specific point defences.

Beyond counter-drone, the ADF's broader modernisation includes AUKUS submarine acquisition, long-range strike capability development, and the Integrated Air and Missile Defence framework. The autonomous-systems envelope in the 2026 IIP sits alongside these programmes as the fastest-moving capability investment area, driven by the Gulf campaign operational data that demonstrated drone swarms as the dominant threat mode for advanced conventional forces.