Australian spy plane operators in Middle East not sharing intel with US for offensive operations, defence boss says

Information on drones and other threats being shared but defence chief confirms crew taking active steps' to only contribute to defensive actions

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Australian personnel operating a state-of-the-art surveillance plane are filtering information gleaned from the Middle East war to ensure intelligence is not shared with the United States for offensive purposes, the defence force chief says.

As the federal government extended the deployment of the E-7 Wedgetail aircraft on Thursday, the chief of Defence, Admiral David Johnston, said the crew were taking active steps to only contribute to defensive operations.