Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that his country is ready to send a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine and is "open to consideration of any proposals" if such a request is received, Bloomberg reports
In light of this announcement, Defense Express offers a brief overview of the ground forces branch of the Australian Defense Force from the perspective of available manpower, equipment, and capabilities to hold off a breach of a potential ceasefire.
Read more: Officially: Ukraine Wil Get 49 M1 Abrams Tanks From Australia
The assessment will partly rely on the data from The Military Balance 2024 global study. At the beginning of last year, Australia had a 44,000-strong ground force, the Australian Army, comprising 24,800 soldiers in active service within the 1st Division, and 15,600 reservists as the 2nd Division.
The current number of main battle tanks in possession is uncertain, as the last remaining M1A1 Abrams were decommissioned in August 2024, some of which are set to be handed to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the new M1A2 SEPv3 tanks from the United States are due to arrive this year.
As for other types of armored vehicles, the Australian army has at its disposal 50 wheeled Boxer armored personnel carriers and 221 wheeled ASLAV-25 infantry fighting vehicles, 416 M113AS4 tracked APCs, 1,000 Hawkei armored utility vehicles, and approximately 950 Bushmaster MRAP vehicles. Available artillery includes 48 M777A2 howitzers and 216 mortars (81mm); in February 2025, the first two K9 self-propelled guns also joined ranks as part of an ongoing acquisition program. The Army's air defense is ensured by RBS-70 man-portable missile systems, quantity not specified.
Interestingly, the Australian land forces have even 15 landing craft in subordination, each capable of carrying one MBT or 200 landing troops. The army aviation consists of 22 Tiger attack helicopters, 14 CH-47F Chinook transport helicopters, three UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters, and two leased AW139s.
Important to note that Australia presently keeps military contingents in Iraq (110 special forces troops), Malaysia (120 infantry troops), the UAE (400 military personnel), and has allocated 70 instructors to train the Ukrainian soldiers within the framework of the multi-national Interflex program.
Read more: Australia Scrapped MRH90 Taipan Helicopters Ukraine Was Asking For, and Sold the Parts
