On the night of 31 May 1942, my grandfather was a young boy hiding under the kitchen table as Sydney went into a panic. The Pacific War, a distant thought to many Sydneysiders, had come …
Several recent articles, including one last week by the US Studies Centre’s Peter Dean, have promoted the need for corvettes for the Royal Australian Navy. They merit a response. Dean writes that the defence strategic …
Defence Minister Richard Marles called in February for the Australian Defence Force to be capable of ‘impactful projection’. Well, the defence procurement machinery is aiming to achieve that in spades, lining up acquisitions of a …
Strong diplomacy is crucial to avoid conflict, and the Australian Defence Force must operate within an envelope created and expanded by the nation’s diplomatic efforts, says ADF chief Angus Campbell. Failure of this key element …
In a brutal blow to Australia’s space sector, future economy, industrial base and international reputation, the Australian government has axed the National Space Mission for Earth Observation (NSMEO), doubling down on the recent cancelling of …
Australia is planning to acquire a remarkable variety of strike missiles—weapons designed to hit distant surface targets. They will differ in capabilities and will variously be carried by aircraft, ships and trucks. Despite the differences, …
We tend to look for winners and losers in any Australian government announcement, and the defence strategic review (DSR) is no exception. Reading the headlines about the two-thirds reduction in infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and …
Last week, as Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia was gaining pace, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia could destroy the undersea cables connecting Europe and the US to the internet in retaliation for the …
Russia’s continued isolation from the G7, and the expansion of sanctions against Moscow, have made the severe consequences of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine clearer than ever. During the G7 summit last week, Russia’s …
The defence strategic review highlighted the need for the Royal Australian Navy to have two levels of surface combatants to provide ‘increased strike, air defence, presence operations and anti-submarine warfare’. While the DSR doesn’t directly …
Our dangerous times are driving an unprecedented tempo of strategy writing in Canberra. Having barely caught its breath since the AUKUS pathway announcement in March and the release of the defence strategic review (DSR) in …
Home to almost two billion people, some of the world’s most dynamic economies, and important shipping routes, South Asia is a crucial geopolitical arena and the site of increasing rivalry between two of Asia’s biggest powers—China …