Land Forces 2026: Australia prepares medium-range air-defence competition under Land 6504
Exercise ‘Taipan Strike' 2026 saw an SM-2 missile fired as a potential, future Lockheed Martin-led MRGBAD capability for Australia. (Commonwealth of Australia)
Australia's Department of Defence (DoD) is set to launch a tender for a new medium-range ground-based air-defence (MRGBAD) system designed to fill a long-standing capability gap.
The tender for the future Australian Army weapon system is expected to be issued before mid-October 2026, with the DoD holding a preliminary industry briefing at the Land Forces 2026 exhibition in Perth on 7 October.
The MRGBAD effort falls under Project Land 6504, which replaced the earlier Land 6502 Phase 1 programme. It will form part of a national integrated air and missile defence system that currently relies on the Kongsberg-Raytheon National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) for ground-based air defence.
Strategic requirement
The capability was prioritised in the Integrated Investment Program (IIP) 2026 and is expected to consume a significant proportion of the AUD7.2–10 billion (USD5–7 billion) allocated to air defence over the coming decade.
The IIP stated, “This programme will commence as a priority from 2026, with investment to build a resilient, networked capability that will form a core component of the national integrated air and missile defence system. Additional opportunities to further increase our air and missile defence capabilities in the short term will also be explored.”
The National Defence Strategy 2026 also identified missile defence as a priority, calling for the “accelerated introduction of medium-range, ground-based, active missile defence through investment in missile launchers and munitions and integrating them with the Australian Defence Force's command-and-control systems”.
Go beyond the headlines - with direct links to interconnected entities
Get full access to validated equipment, military capabilities, and market insights.
