After a week filled with news of Chinese warships off the coast of Australia and a volatile United States, a Coalition announcement of more fighter jets has piqued the interest of defence experts.
The opposition has left the door open to new defence spending announcements during the campaign, arguing a deteriorating security environment calls for more action.
And while defence experts largely agree Australia is under-spending on its military, asking taxpayers to spend more is a tough sell.
Peter Dean, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence at the United States Studies Centre, is quoted in reporting by the ABC's AM program.