Australia to send missiles, planes to UAE amid Mideast tension

Australia will supply air-to-air missiles to the United Arab Emirates and deploy reconnaissance aircraft to the region amid the ongoing military confrontation in the Middle East between Israel and Iran, Reuters reports.

However, Australian troops will not be sent, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

“Our involvement is purely defensive. It is aimed at protecting Australians in the region as well as supporting our friends in the United Arab Emirates,” Albanese was quoted as saying by the agency.

According to Financial Times, E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft are being prepared for deployment. The decision was made following overnight talks between Albanese and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The military supply comes in the wake of the current conflict involving Iran, the United States, and Israel that escalated sharply on February 28, 2026, when U.S. and Israeli forces launched coordinated air and missile strikes on Iranian military, nuclear, and government facilities. 

Among the early developments was the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in strikes in Tehran, triggering a leadership transition and further intensifying tensions across the region. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, later assumed the position of supreme leader.

The attacks prompted retaliatory missile and drone strikes by Iran against U.S. and allied targets across the Middle East, including military installations and infrastructure in Gulf states. Iranian strikes have also targeted regional shipping routes and U.S. facilities, contributing to a broader security crisis. Tehran targeted installations hosting American forces in countries including Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, as well as other regional locations linked to U.S. military operations.