Bomb camera vision showing Australian bombs obliterating Islamic State targets won't be publicly released.
Defence head Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin says the conflict with IS isn't a video game.
He says Australia had not released this imagery in 2003 when RAAF Hornets assisted in Iraq and that practice had not changed.
"I don't want to get into glorifying what's happening out there," he told AAP.
"This isn't a video game. This is the real world. That camera film shows people dying and I don't think we should glorify that."
In recent conflicts, the US has released eye-catching bomb camera vision taken by combat aircraft showing guided bombs striking and destroying their targets.
Australia has similar vision, including of the mission this week when two laser-guided bombs released by one of the RAAF's six Super Hornets struck an IS facility.
Air Marshal Binskin, visiting Australia's support base in the Middle East, said some people believed that Australia should follow the US and release this imagery.
"Actually if you look at what the US releases, it's been very, very selective and there hasn't been a lot out when you look at the number of strikes they are doing," he said.
Air Marshal Binskin said all indications were that the coalition air campaign was hurting IS.
"We have slowed them down in what they want to do. They have to acknowledge the fact that, if they do show themselves, they are a target," he said.
Air Marshal Binskin said IS forces could no longer mass on the battlefield.
"It forces them to change their tactics. They are still a viable fighting force but they have had to adapt," he said.
"This is a hard slog. It's going to be a hard slog for a long time."
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