The Australian stockpile, expected to reach full capacity by 2028, will be kept in Melbourne before being moved to US warehouses to be constructed next year at an Australian military base at Bandiana in rural Victoria, tender documents show, according to AFP.
“Marine Corps activities in Australia support integrated global sustainment by maintaining ready-for-issue equipment and supplies for operations and exercises across the Indo-Pacific,” a US Marine Corps spokesperson told AFP.
The spokesperson declined to comment on contract details or force planning assumptions but said Marines equipment is kept at “high readiness”.
Contracting arrangements and the operation of the facility would be made in close coordination with Australia’s Department of Defence.
“These activities improve responsiveness, strengthen interoperability with allies and partners, and support a range of missions across the Indo-Pacific,” the spokesperson said, using an alternative description for the Asia-Pacific region.
US Army trucks were left at the Bandiana base in 2023 after an Australian war game involving US troops held every two years. The Marines stockpile at Bandiana, approved last July, is separate.
“Marine Corps and Army equipment programmes are designed to support their respective service requirements and are managed under separate authorities and processes,” the Marines spokesperson said.
