The US military plans to create a permanent war-ready weapons stockpile for its Marine Corps on Australia’s south-east coast, positioned beyond the range of most Chinese missiles, officials confirmed [1]. The initial storage will be located in Melbourne before moving in 2027 to newly constructed warehouses at the Bandiana military base in rural Victoria [1, 2]. Some US$30 million has been allocated for building the warehouses and offices to house the stockpile [1, 2].
The stockpile is expected to reach full capacity by 2028, marking a significant expansion of US military prepositioning in the Indo-Pacific region [1, 2]. A spokesperson for US Marine Corps Forces Pacific said, “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.” They added, “These activities improve responsiveness, strengthen interoperability with allies and partners, and support a range of missions across the Indo-Pacific.” [1]
About 110 personnel including engineers, mechanics, material specialists and safety experts will manage the Australian stockpile [1]. The US Marine Corps has a long history of global prepositioning, with prior sites including floating supplies and caves in Norway dating back to the Cold War [1, 2].
While Australia does not permit permanent foreign bases on its soil, it hosts rotating US forces and works closely with Washington on the stockpile’s operations [1]. This Australian facility follows 2026’s opening of the US military’s first land stockpile in the Asia-Pacific at the Philippines [1].
Plans call for the Bandiana warehouses to be completed in 2027, with full operational capacity achieved by 2028 [1, 2]. This stockpile aims to improve the US military’s ability to respond quickly and coordinate with allies for future missions across the Indo-Pacific region [1].
