Australian Defence Force

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF''') and a number of 'tri-service' units. The ADF has a strength of just under 201,000 full-time personnel and active reservists, and is supported by the Department of Defence and several other civilian agencies. During the first decades of the 20th century, the Australian Government established the armed services as separate organisations. Each service had an independent chain of command. In 1976, the government made a strategic change and established the ADF to place the services under a single headquarters. Over time, the degree of integration has increased and tri-service headquarters, logistics and training institutions have supplanted many single-service establishments. The ADF is technologically sophisticated but relatively small. Although the ADF's 139,023 full-time active-duty personnel, 61,850 active reserves and 42,166 standby reserves make it the largest military in Oceania, it is still smaller than most Asian militaries. Nonetheless, the ADF is supported by a significant budget by worldwide standards and is able to deploy forces in multiple locations outside Australia.

Statististics

 * Active Personnel: 151,100 (Army: 49,600; Air Force: 43,500; Navy: 58,000)
 * Reserve Personnel: 134,200
 * Budget: $57,096,000,000 (2.6% of GDP)
 * Commander in Chief: Queen Elizabeth II (through Governor-General Quentin Bryce)
 * Minister of Defense: Stephen Smith
 * Chief of Staff: General David Hurley

Royal Australian Air Force

 * Project Air 8100 will upgrade the F-15C Eagle with the AN/APG-83 AESA radar (OTL APG-82), a pair of General Electric F110-GE-132 afterburning turbofans, thrust vectoring, and the ability to fire the AIM-152 AAAM air-to-air missiles.
 * 36 CF-190 Crossbows have replaced the 24 F-111 Aardvarks in RAAF service.
 * 156 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets have been ordered to replace the 120 F/A-18C/D Hornets currently in the RAAF.
 * Thirty-two maritime patrol aircraft to replace the twenty-one Lockheed AP-3C Orions. Australia is participating in the development of the Boeing P-8 Poseidon to fill this role, but has not committed to purchase the aircraft.
 * Seven High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to expand the surveillance of Australia's maritime approaches.
 * Ten C-27J medium transports to be delivered in 2015.
 * Replacement aircraft for PC-9 training aircraft under Project AIR 5428, with a decision due between 2012–2015.

Royal Australian Navy

 * Project SEA 1429 will upgrade the Collins-class submarines with state-of-the-art heavyweight torpedoes.
 * Project SEA 1439 Phase 4A will equip the Collins-class submarines with a new tactical combat system.
 * Project SEA 1654 Phase 3 is a project to acquire a trio of Sea Logistic Support and Replenishment Support vessels to replace the supply ship HMAS Success.
 * Project JP 2048 Phase 3 will provide eight Heavy Landing Craft to replace the RAN's Balikpapan-class vessels. The project is planned to deliver capability in 2014–2016.
 * Project JP 2048 Phases 4A and 4B is a project to build two Canberra-class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) amphibious ships (based on the Spanish Buque de Proyección Estratégica). These will be the largest RAN warships ever commissioned and will replace HMAS Tobruk and a Kanimbla-class vessel. The project is on schedule for the vessels to be accepted in January 2014 (HMAS Canberra) and August 2015 (HMAS Adelaide).