Australia should upgrade military and diplomatic relations with Israel to tap into its expertise in counter-terrorism and hi-tech weapons systems, according to a major report to be released today.
Australia could benefit from Israel’s expertise in unmanned aerial systems, ship-borne missile defence, cyber-warfare, armoured vehicle protection, smart sensors and a range of other capabilities.
Both nations are intimate US allies and operate a great deal of common US defence equipment, including soon the F-35A version of the Joint Strike Fighter.
The report, The Wattle and The Olive by Anthony Bergin of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and Efraim Inbar from Israel’s Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, suggests Australia and Israel eventually would have enough common strategic and political interests to sustain a two-plus-two dialogue of foreign and defence ministers.
Read the full article by Greg Sheridan at the Australian.