At the ASPI land power conference a few weeks ago, the PM promised an enterprise-level naval shipbuilding plan based around a rolling-build program. This will bring joy to the hearts of the burghers of South …
Articles by: "Andrew Davies"
Last week there was a real flurry in the press and the blogosphere about the performance of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Or, more accurately, about the lack of manoeuvre performance in a trial against …
Having to resist the urge to take a cheap shot is an occupational hazard in my business, and one that I don’t always successfully avoid. Once such was the title I gave to a review …
When I started to ponder Army aviation in its totality, I realised that force structure planning and project definition for Army aviation is a bit of a mess. Lest that sound a bit harsh, let …
Australia and Canada have similar defence problems. Both have a continental area to surveil and defend; and both front onto three oceans, while having to build their defence forces from the resources of relatively small …
We’ve been thinking about the manufacturing sector in Australia in the wrong way. The general perception is that it’s in a terminal decline, which will be realised when the last of the big car …
It’s hard to say which is worse: the Navy’s attempt to hide its performance behind a cloak of secrecy or its abject failure to do so effectively. Back in late 2012, it was possible to …
Hanoi is one of the best settings in which to contemplate the limits of American power. The Vietnam War showed that a determined adversary (with substantial help from two major powers) can resist even a …
I’ve recently discussed two trends in military technology. The week before lasts’ post on the 1990s non-revolution in military affairs argued that low-tech adversaries simply make themselves scarce when faced with a technologically superior foe. …
I was recently asked to give a lecture at ANU about the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). For those born after 1990—of which I encounter a distressingly large number in my professional life these days—RMA …
The news that Australia has done a deal to exchange intelligence with Iran generated some fierce criticism from independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who described the arrangement as ‘complete and utter madness from a security point of …
Andrew Davies: It’s been a few weeks since the release of the First Principles Review into Defence. Yesterday ASPI released its ‘review of the Review’, and it’s now time to think about what comes next—implementation …