Australias

The Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) recently delivered and extremely capable MC-55A Peregrine airborne intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare (AISREW) aircraft has begun its first overseas deployment. Publicly available flight tracking data shows that the aircraft has been operating out of Clark Air Base in the Philippines, from where it has ventured out into the highly strategic and tense South China Sea on several occasions.

Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicates that MC-55 serial A51-004 flew from its home base at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia to Clark, close to the Philippine capital Manila, on July 28. Data compiled by Australian Defense Magazine reveals seven missions flown out of Clark between July 30 and August 7.

With missions typically lasting between four and nine hours, the MC-55 primarily flew in or close to Philippine airspace near Mindoro and Palawan islands. However, on four occasions, according to available data, it flew further west into the South China Sea. For those parts of the mission, its transponder was switched off for periods of between three and four hours.

The Australian Defense Forces (ADF) told Australian Defense Magazine that the deployment is part of its longstanding engagements in the Indo-Pacific region but provided no further operational details.

Based on the length of time that the MC-55 ‘went dark’ on flight tracking aggregators, its areas of interest could have included various disputed reefs and other features in the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.

China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam all claim the Spratly Islands, which are largely uninhabited but may have significant reserves of natural resources around them. The Spratly Islands are home to a significant Chinese military presence, most notably in the form of artificial islands featuring long runways and aircraft hangars, among other infrastructure. They are also heavily defended with missiles, radar stations, and more.

Both China and the Philippines also lay claim to the Scarborough Shoal (known as Huangyan Island in China), which is little more than 100 miles from the Philippines and 500 miles from China.

Overall, China’s sovereignty claims over the South China Sea, including islands, other features and adjacent waters, are the most sweeping and have led to high tensions with competing claimants.

China routinely backs up its expansive claims with naval patrols, in the air and at sea.

Meanwhile, the United States says it does not take sides in these disputes but sends warships and military aircraft close to the disputed islands as part of its ‘freedom of navigation’ operations.

The same kinds of operations are also conducted by the ADF, with the RAAF responsible for missions into the South China Sea. These have previously been flown from Clark Air Base, as well as from Butterworth in Malaysia and out of Singapore. The RAAF uses the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for these missions, and previously also the AP-3C (EW) Orion.

The specially equipped AP-3C (EW), the secretive electronic warfare version of the RAAF Orion, was formerly flown by No. 10 Squadron, which is now responsible for the MC-55 fleet at RAAF Edinburgh.

Since we reported on the arrival of the first MC-55 at Edinburgh in January of this year, a second and third aircraft have been delivered to Australia, arriving at the same base in March and in June. The fourth aircraft is still to be delivered.

As we have described in depth previously, the MC-55 — based on a highly modified version of the Gulfstream G550 business jet — is equipped with a variety of sensors to combine electronic warfare (EW), signals intelligence (SIGINT), and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions in a single airframe. These capabilities would be in extreme need during any kind of crisis in the Indo-Pacific region.

The aircraft can also serve as a networking relay and data-fusion platform, linking together other aircraft as well as surface combatants and ground forces. TWZ has previously confirmed that the MC-55 incorporates technology ported directly over from the RC-135 Rivet Joint, as you can read about here. In the past, we have also speculated that the jet is likely outfitted with active electronically scanned arrays (AESA), which would be used for standoff electronic attacks, as well as intelligence-gathering. 

In the context of missions in the South China Sea, the MC-55 is a highly capable passive intelligence-collection platform, bringing a major boost to the ADF as it seeks to keep tabs on the growing Chinese military threat in the Indo-Pacific region.

The aircraft’s ISR capabilities mean it will be well-suited to surveilling Chinese military expansion and monitoring Beijing’s activities, which have already seen a number of incidents involving the ADF and Chinese military assets. As well as operating from the Philippines, and potentially from Malaysia and Singapore, the RAAF plans to deploy the MC-55 to the Cocos Islands, deep in the Indian Ocean, approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka.

With the first appearance of the MC-55 at Clark Air Base, Australia appears to be moving from relying primarily on the P-8A for South China Sea maritime surveillance toward having a dedicated, highly specialised airborne SIGINT/EW capability operating alongside it. This will give the ADF and its partners a much better picture of Chinese radar, communications, air defense and naval activity.

The first overseas deployment of the MC-55 — among the most advanced surveillance and electronic attack platforms in the world — marks a significant expansion of Australia’s ability to monitor and understand Chinese military activity in the South China Sea, strengthening the ADF’s intelligence and electronic warfare reach across the Indo-Pacific.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

A new study by Australia’s internet regulator has revealed that more than eight in 10 young Australian teens and preteens are continuing to use social media platforms despite the government’s prohibition for children under 16.

The ban came into effect in December last year.

Here is what we know about how it’s going.

What did the latest report find?

Australia’s internet regulator, eSafety, said it had found that more than eight in 10 Australian under-16s are continuing to use social media despite being banned from doing so.

The report also found that most of those children aged 10 to 15 were using social media just as frequently in March as they had been before the ban came into force on December 10 last year.

“Most under-16s who had social media accounts before commencement were able to either retain them or create new ones at the three-month ⁠mark, with social media platforms’ failure to implement effective age assurance measures cited as the main reason,” eSafety said in a statement.

About half the children who retained their accounts said platforms had not checked their age, the most common reason they were able to stay on the services. Others said that their accounts listed them as aged 16 or older or ‌that age-checking ⁠systems had incorrectly determined they were older.

Prior to the ban, nearly 86 percent of children surveyed reported using at least one age-restricted platform. Three months later, that figure remained above 81 percent, the eSafety report said.

Around 58 percent of teenagers reported using social media daily, the report found. Before the ban, the number was roughly 60 percent.

The report showed minimal change in “sports and physical activity, arts and music, spending time with friends and family, and attendance at community events”.

At the time the new rule was introduced, experts warned that enforcing it would be extremely difficult.

Joanna Orlando, a researcher in digital wellbeing and the author of Generation Connected: How to Parent in a Digital World, told Al Jazeera in December last year: “Tech-savvy teens simply use VPNs, fake birth photos for face scans, or migrate to less regulated platforms like Lemon8, or to platforms not part of the ban like video games. Enforcement is proving to be difficult in the days leading up to the ban.”

In December 2025, Australia prohibited children under 16 from using social media platforms, becoming the world’s first country to do so. Video game platforms are not included in the ban.

The government said this was prompted by increasing concerns about the effects of cyberbullying, sexual exploitation and self-harm content on the mental and physical health of children and young people.

Research commissioned by the Australian government in 2023 found four out of five children aged eight to 16 use social media, often beginning between the ages of 10 and 12. That report was led by former National Australia Bank CEO Andrew Thorburn, who recommended age restrictions.

Under the law, 10 of the biggest social media platforms face $33m in fines if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to block Australian-based users younger than 16. Such steps include using age-verification tools to determine how old users are.

As of January 16, social media companies had revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children in Australia, according to officials.

“We stared down everybody who said it couldn’t be done, some of the most powerful and rich companies in the world and their supporters,” Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells told reporters in January.

However, several months later, it now appears that youngsters have been able to open new accounts with relative ease.

Days after Australia’s ban took effect, Reddit, one of the 10 platforms required to block minors, lodged a challenge to the ban in the High Court, while still complying with it. The case is still ongoing.

How has the Australian government responded to the latest findings?

On Saturday, Andrew Leigh, Australia’s assistant minister for productivity, competition, charities and treasury, defended the new law, arguing that the social media ban has already reshaped the “national debate” about the use of social media by children.

The ban has been “an important game changer in the conversation among parents”, Leigh said in televised remarks.

“We’ve had millions of accounts shut down,” he said.

“We never expected that this would have 100 percent compliance. We don’t get 100 percent compliance out of minimum drinking age laws, but it’s still appropriate that we have that law on the books.”

While social media has long provided easy access to unregulated and often harmful content, misinformation and hate speech, the recent explosion of AI‑generated material poses new risks to the wellbeing of children and young people, experts say.

The American Psychological Association published an advisory last year warning that generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems can amplify harmful content such as violent or sexual videos.

It also added that adolescents are less likely than adults to question the accuracy of AI-generated content. “They may also be unaware of the persuasive intent underlying an AI system’s advice or bias,” the advisory stated.

AI can also amplify pre-existing societal prejudices, according to Ayo Tometi, co-creator of the US-based antiracist movement Black Lives Matter.

Children worldwide are also worried about the misuse of AI for online child sexual exploitation and “deepfakes”, according to research by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on children’s perspectives and AI, which it published in October 2025.

Following the introduction of Australia’s landmark law, some other countries are contemplating similar bans.

In the United Kingdom, the government has announced that it also plans to introduce a ban on social media platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram from spring 2027 onward. 

Messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Signal, educational tools, and e-commerce and music streaming will be excluded.

The government will announce the new regulations by the end of this year.

In November 2025, Denmark’s government said it also plans to prohibit social media platforms for children under 15, saying it had secured majority support in parliament. The ban is due to come into effect later this year.

Around the same time, Malaysia said it would ban social media accounts for people under 16 from this year.

In April, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis formally announced plans to prohibit social media access for children under 15 from January 1, 2027, subject to parliamentary approval.