The Australian defence community has been rightly focused this past fortnight on the Turnbull Government’s announcement of the winner—France’s DCNS—of the Competitive Evaluation Process (CEP) to secure the contract for building Australia’s future submarine. But …
With the outcome of the long-awaited SEA 1000 Competitive Evaluation Process seeing France’s DCNS announced as the international design partner for the future submarines, Australia must now manage the diplomatic fallout with the two failed …
In analysis of US Grand Strategy under a future President Trump, Rod Lyon warns about a reversal of the US rebalance to Asia, noting ‘turbulent waters lie ahead’, and echoing concerns aired by Kim Beazley …
In my previous post, I recommended Australia develop a networked Theatre ASW (TASW) capability—including building its own Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS)—as an essential capability in the face of likely Chinese PLA-N operations in our …
A key challenge in the coming years for Australia will be the PLA’s growing ability to project military power beyond what Chinese military thinkers deem to be the first and second island chains (see map …
The 2016 Defence White Paper, in considering the ADF’s approach to the use of outer space for military purposes, highlights a significant potential path for the ADF, and more broadly, for Australian space policy in …
Of all the potentially transformational military technologies that will appear over the next 10 years, hypersonic strike weapons, and ultimately, hypersonic platforms, could radically transform future military operations as well as open up the prospect …
A key aspect of the new Defence White Paper is significant enhancement to ADF force structure. In previous White Papers, a list of four principal tasks has shaped Australian military strategy. In …
Despite continuing challenges with the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) development, the F-35 program forms the core of Australia’s future airpower. Australia remains committed to the JSF program, with the F-35A expected to reach initial operational …
In analysing Japan’s updated space policy, Andrew Davies and Rod Lyon suggest the prospect of Australia joining Japan in greater cooperation on the high frontier. Noting that the broader defence and security relationship with Japan …
The Australian Defence Force will soon acquire an important new platform that will enhance its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, focusing on electronic intelligence (ELINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) gathering. The US Defense Department …
My last article concluded that one of the risks Australia might face in a more unpredictable future was ‘strike warfare’ by China to coerce Australia as part of intensified strategic competition with the US in …
