The first US-built Triton drone will arrive mid-next year, with another two on order.
The unmanned aircraft has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 and can fly for up to 24 hours.
The air force will re-establish 9 Squadron, which operated during the Second World War, to run reconnaissance using the drones.
The squadron was disbanded in 1944 before being set up again between 1962 and 1989, operating during the Vietnam War.
Australian forces began training with the Triton alongside the US Navy late last year and are set to finish training by June.
The squadron will operate out of the Northern Territory.
RAAF chief Robert Chipman said the squadron had been involved in some of Australia's most iconic battles.
"On the emblem you'll see an Australian native bird, the black-browed albatross," the air vice marshal told reporters on Friday.
"The black-browed albatross is renowned for spending a long time in overwater flights, which makes it the perfect symbol for the perfect squadron for us to establish the Triton's capability."
Defence Minister Richard Marles said the new drone had a lot to offer.
"It will be able to provide persistent reconnaissance and surveillance of our northern maritime approaches, which is so important in terms of the defence of our nation," he said.
"It is also going to be really useful in terms of surveilling illegal fishing both in our own waters and also the waters of our Pacific neighbours."
The drones follow the US approving the sale of new missiles to Australia, with other military purchases in the pipeline.
The government is also set to unveil how it will acquire nuclear submarines under an agreement with America and the United Kingdom.
Australia's outgoing ambassador to the US, Arthur Sinodinos, said the submarines would be a "genuinely trilateral solution" and he had assured the White House its nuclear technology would be safe in Australia.
"The very fact that the Americans are prepared to share their crown jewels with us implies that there will have to be progress on the seamless transfer of technology," Mr Sinodinos told a US think tank.
The ambassador said the AUKUS agreement was "almost like a state of mind".
"It's about how we work together, how we think together, how we co-operate and how we're stronger together," he said.
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