Australia is spending billions on unmanned American reconnaissance drones that will be able to fly higher and further than its manned aircraft, to beef up its surveillance operations in areas that include the disputed South China Sea. The Triton unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) would complement the current surveillance aircraft Australia already uses to survey its maritime borders, conduct search and rescue, and carry out Freedom of Navigation exercises in the contested South China Sea. From Australia, the Triton UAVs will be able to fly as far north as the South China Sea, as far west as the Indian Ocean, and as far south as Antarctica, where the Australian military monitors activity over the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone, a marine area of around 4 million square miles.
