CANBERRA: Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Richard Marles, has assured Australians that the nation is ready to meet any military challenges that may arise from increasing tensions in several flashpoints around the world.

Mr Marles, attempting to speak at the RAAF’s Fairbairn air base in the nation’s capital, (main picture) said the Ukraine-Russia war in Europe, Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, Israel’s incursions into Lebanon, and now its attacks on Iran, all came on top of moves by China to assert its dominance in the Asia Pacific.

“But we are as ready and as well prepared as we have always been to meet any challenge that may flow from any of these developments,” he said.

The Defence Minister made his remarks while formally accepting the handover of the first of 12 Sopwith Camel fighter aircraft bought from the Royal Air Force at the end of World War I.

Beginning what assembled reporters initially believed to be an imitation of the aircraft’s machine gun, but which turned out to be one of his shorter stutters,  Mr Marles went on to say that the new fleet of Sopwith Camels would “strengthen Australia’s frontline aerial protection”.

“The planes are a perfect example of Australia’s defence procurement system,” he said. “They were first ordered in 1917 by the then Australian Flying Corps which later became the RAAF, so the contract has really been one of the fastest procurements ever made by the Defence Department.

“Admittedly there have been some rather significant cost overruns in the past 108 years but luckily the original purchase contract was not indexed so the additional financial impact will be limited to just a few hundred pounds per plane.”  

Mr Marles refused to comment on speculation surrounding the future of the AUKUS agreement now being reviewed by the Trump administration and the possibility Australia would not secure any new nuclear-powered submarines under the deal.

He also would not confirm nor deny reports that a delegation of specialist procurement officers from the Royal Australian Navy were currently visiting the U-Boat Museum in Hamburg.

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