[gaius]

Australia's defence needs are the same as the UKs - you must absolutely be able to secure your shipping lanes, first and foremost. Anything else is the icing on the cake. This is something the UK has lost sight of. We need SSNs and destroyers, not white elephant aircraft carriers. And certainly not Eurofighters or F35s.

[dwd]

Australia mostly needs aircraft with a long-range, decent loiter-time and an anti-shipping capability.

They have it half right purchasing the Boeing P-8A Poseidon and evaluating Reaper drones.

But like the UK we don't need aircraft carriers, but it seems that's what Tony now wants the new Canberra class ships to be.