A large airbase used by Australian forces in the Middle East was reportedly hit by Iranian missile strikes over the weekend, but Defence Minister Richard Marles insists all military personnel in the area are safe and accounted for.
Dozens of ADF members remain stationed at the Al Minhad Airbase (AMAB) outside Dubai, running Headquarters Middle East (HQME) in support of up to twelve current operations across the region.
Since the United States and Israel launched their coordinated strikes against Iran on Friday evening (Canberra time) there have been numerous reports of retaliatory attacks on bases used by coalition forces across the United Arab Emirates.
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Unverified images posted to social media on Saturday show smoke rising from a district outside Dubai believed to be where Al Minhad Air Base is located in the desert, but Australia’s Defence Department has not yet commented on the reports.
Numerous eye witnesses have also reported hearing large explosions in the vicinity of Al Minhad, including in Dubai’s nearby residential district of Damac Hills 2.
One military figure, speaking on the condition of anonymity, has told The Nightly the vast AMAB facility received “multiple impacts” from suspected ballistic weapons, but added there were “no injuries” recorded.
A RAAF Globemaster lands at Al Minhad with military cargo from Australia. Credit: Sergeant Hamish Paterson/Defence
“There is no further information coming, and imagery from the scene is being tightly held — but apparently a medical facility on the base was hit,” the source added.
On Monday Defence Minister Richard Marles told Parliament all serving ADF personnel in the Middle East were safe and accounted for.
“There are more than 100 Australian serving personnel in a number of countries across the region, but most of whom are in the United Emirates where we have had for many years an operational headquarters at Al Minhad outside of Dubai.”
“I can report to the house that all of those serving men and women are accounted for and right now are safe,” Mr Marles said during Question Time.
Earlier in the day the Minister told reporters in Canberra that the government was “clearly taking measures to provide for their safety, and we will continue to obviously watch that very closely”.
A Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster strategic airlift aircraft is seen at Tirana airport, Albania, as it awaits the loading of military stores destined for delivery to northern Iraq. Unknown Credit: Unknown/HQJTF633
According to the Defence Department, HQME at Al Minhad has supported ADF missions and contingencies since 2003, operating under various names before becoming Operation Accordion in 2014.
Since the 2021 withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan, Australia has maintained a smaller force at AMAB of 50 core ADF personnel and a total of 70 to 80 staff, which is focused on “strategic access and regional crisis response”.
“HQME enables logistics, communications and support for up to 12 current operations, while providing a scalable hub from Al Minhad Air Base,” the Defence Department says on its website.
“These include both Australian-led missions and multinational or UN-supported efforts. The base remains Australia’s only forward-deployed headquarters and maintains strategic relationships within the region, particularly with the UAE.”
Although the Albanese government has declared it will not take part in any military operations against Iran the “scalable” presence at Al Minhad could eventually be used as a staging point for possible defence evacuation flights from the Middle East.
