2026 NATIONAL DEFENCE STRATEGY

16 APRIL 2026

CANBERRA:The Albanese Government is holding course on its defence policy with the 2026 National Defence Strategy revealing slight modifications to the overall direction revealed in the 2024 Defence Strategic Review with no spectacular surprises.

Few, potentially no, new initiatives have been revealed in the 2026 National Defence Strategy document and the partnered 2026 Integrated Investment Program which retains the trajectory outlined in 2024.

Reprioritisation of several programs will be undertaken, with the previously rescoped Medium Range Ground Based Air Defence capability reinstated as a primary objective along with higher prioritisation of the Hypersonic Flight Test & Experimentation Project and the reprioritisations of the acquisition of a next generation Lead In Fighter Trainer.

Further insight into future programs in the National Defence Strategy 2026 included a little more transparency around the planned production of six large Optionally Crewed Surface Vessel combatants which will be built at the planned Henderson Defence Precinct and will be missile armed.

The incremental refinements to the major realignment of the Australian Defence Force from a balanced force to a focused force tasked with providing deterrence through long range strike and manoeuvre announced in 2023, indicates that defence planning is more confident in its original reorganisation.

Interestingly it is not possible to calculate the actual increase in budgetary allotment for Defence under the rearranged funding model which has adopted NATO based calculation basis which involves the inclusion of major non defence funding like veterans affairs, some infrastructure programs and even Other Government Agencies like Border Force and some police funding in the final figure.

Minister of Defence Richard Marles claims that the Government has injected $14 billion into the Defence funding allocation over the forward estimates (four years 2026-2030) with a total of $53 billion in additional spending on Defence over the decade to 2036.

Insight was however given on the Collins class Life Of Type Extension with the following from the 2026 Integrated Investment Program 2/13, "The Government is investing $7.8-$11 billion over the decade to ensure Navy's Collins class submarines remain a potent strike and deterrent capability. The Collins life of type extension program includes investments in - ongoing sustainment, including the full cycle docking of Collins class submarines to undertake deep maintenance and selected capability upgrades, cognisant of the material state of each submarine to ensure the operational availability of the Collins class into the 2040s..."

Indicating that the Collins class SSG Life of Type Extension (LOTE) program will be a limited capability augmentation rather than the original concept of a major capability rejuvenation and that the breadth of the LOTE will be dependent on the state of each individual submarine rather than an across the fleet enterprise.

Expanded funding for the acquisition of multiple types of robotic aerial vehicles, including armed offensive Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) and interceptor Unmanned Aerial Systems will be fast tracked with a focus on sovereign technology and production.

High technologies including AI enabled decision making, superior sensor capability and feed exploitation will consume a significant amount of the planned and additional funding which is likely a prudent move considering the rapid pace of military technology evolution.