Chinese Warship Drill Prompts Call for Australia to Build Its Own ‘Iron Dome’ Missile Shield

Recent live fire exercises by PLA Navy warships in the Tasman Sea have exposed an ‘obvious’ problem, says Michael Shoebridge.
Chinese Warship Drill Prompts Call for Australia to Build Its Own ‘Iron Dome’ Missile Shield
The Iron Dome air-defense system fires to intercept a rocket over the city of Ashdod, Israel, on July 8, 2014. Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images
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Australia must develop its own land-based missile defence systems similar to those protecting Israel and Ukraine as it can no longer rely on distance to avoid attack, according to defence expert Michael Shoebridge of Strategic Analysis Australia (SAA).

“Australia’s geography no longer protects our population or key infrastructure from military threats,” says the co-author of a new paper, The Defence of Australia: A Blueprint for the Next Government (pdf).
Rex Widerstrom
Rex Widerstrom
Author
Rex Widerstrom is a New Zealand-based reporter with over 40 years of experience in media, including radio and print. He is currently a presenter for Hutt Radio.