By Zarak Khan | 2026-06-11

Australia is strengthening its antisubmarine and maritime surveillance capabilities as concerns arise over China's growing naval presence and submarine activity across the Indo-Pacific.

The 14th and final Boeing P-8A Poseidon arrived on May 27, five days after Australia announced a new aerial surveillance contract with a U.S. defense contractor to strengthen maritime reconnaissance and border security.

The initiatives underscore broader efforts to improve maritime domain awareness and deterrence as China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) expands its operational footprint across the Indo-Pacific, including in waters critical to Australian security.

More antisubmarine patrols

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has received its 14th and final Boeing-built P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

Canberra said the completed fleet will bolster its ability to monitor and defend maritime approaches amid growing strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.

The P-8A Poseidon is widely used by U.S. allies and partners, including Australia, to conduct long-range maritime patrol, antisubmarine warfare and intelligence-gathering missions across contested maritime regions.

Australia's Defense Ministry, in a statement on May 27, said the aircraft would strengthen the country's ability to "conduct anti-submarine warfare, maritime strike, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions."

"The P‑8A Poseidon fleet is a critical capability that underpins our ability to maintain awareness of our maritime domain, and enhances Australia's capacity to detect, deter and respond to threats across its maritime approaches," Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, chief of the RAAF, said.

"By integrating advanced sensors, communications, and strike capabilities, the P-8A Poseidon plays a vital role in supporting Australia's deterrence-by-denial strategy," he added.

Defense analysts said the fleet expansion comes as Australia seeks to strengthen its maritime surveillance and antisubmarine capabilities in response to increasing activity by the PLAN across the Indo-Pacific.

Chinese naval buildup

China has significantly built up its naval capabilities over the past decade, fielding a larger and increasingly sophisticated submarine fleet while extending its operational reach beyond the western Pacific.

"Amid increasing Chinese submarine activity in the Indo-Pacific, Australia is seeking to field platforms capable of deterring incursions into its territorial waters," said Harpreet Sidhu, an aerospace and defense analyst at GlobalData, a London-based consultancy.

Sidhu described the P-8A as a highly capable antisubmarine aircraft. It can not only detect and track submarines but engage them with onboard torpedoes, he said.

"The knowledge that Australia operates a full fleet of P-8As is itself a deterrent, one likely to make any PLAN submarine commander think twice before entering Australian waters," he added.

Demonstrating this operational reach, RAAF personnel recently enhanced regional airborne cooperation.

On June 5, the RAAF disclosed that its forces conducted joint information-sharing operations with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force using an Australian P-8A Poseidon and a Japanese Kawasaki RC-2 aircraft over the Pacific Ocean.

Broadening maritime surveillance

Australia has signed an aerial surveillance agreement with Washington-based defense contractor Metrea to strengthen civil maritime surveillance and border protection amid regional strategic competition.

Under the deal, Metrea will partner with the Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force (ABF) to "deliver enhanced surveillance capability in support of the critical task of safeguarding Australia's borders," the company announced on May 22.

The agreement will come into effect on January 1, 2028, for a fleet of 11 aircraft that ABF says will provide "short and long-range aerial surveillance with enhanced national coverage, operating 24/7, year-round."

This move will "further strengthen Australia's civil maritime surveillance and border protection, ensuring continuity of capability, and delivering a step-change in performance, coverage, and surveillance technologies," ABF said in a statement.

Wider Indo-Pacific strategy

These initiatives form part of Australia's broader Indo-Pacific strategy, complementing joint patrols and capacity-building efforts amid mounting concerns over China's undersea activities.

Under its Transparent Ocean initiative, Beijing is conducting extensive undersea mapping and monitoring across the Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans.

Naval analysts say these data could enhance China's future submarine operations and its ability to challenge allied naval forces in strategic waters.

In response, the United States and allies like Australia are accelerating efforts to move defense production closer to Indo-Pacific flashpoints to maintain military readiness against China's rapidly burgeoning capabilities.

In May, Australia joined the United States and Britain, under the AUKUS security partnership, to develop advanced unmanned undersea vehicle payloads designed to protect critical undersea infrastructure, such as vulnerable communication cables.

In March, officials from 16 nations, including Australia, met virtually under the U.S.-led Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience, endorsing new defense initiatives spanning missile production, drone development and ammunition manufacturing.