At first blush, the central narrative of the Defence Department’s 2018–19 budget, as presented in the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements (PAES), appears to be about the falling Australian dollar. Defence’s estimated appropriation for 2018–19 has …
The Australian Defence Force’s equipment is good and getting better. But the ADF’s current and planned force structures have some significant limitations in their ability to deliver some crucial military effects. In an era of …
Originally published 31 July 2018. Much of the argument for building warships and submarines in Australia ultimately rests on the rather dubious logic that we’re on an island surrounded by water. But Australia is also …
In part 1, I posed the question of what, conceptually, the life of type extension (LOTE) for the navy’s Collins-class submarines is. Is it simply an obsolescence-management program, allowing the Collins to degrade more or …
My recent study, Thinking through submarine transition, examines the long journey from Australia’s current submarine capability consisting of six Collins-class submarines to its future capability to be provided by 12 Shortfin Barracudas. I argue that …
The transition from the Collins-class submarines to the future submarine fleet will be longer and more complex than any previous capability transition the Department of Defence has undertaken. Today ASPI released a special report, Thinking …
The conversation about acquiring nuclear-powered submarines continues to bubble along. Some commentators who previously supported acquiring conventional submarines to replace the current Collins class, such as former prime minister Tony Abbott, now favour the nuclear …
It can be hard to grasp the fundamental concepts of evolution because of the vast timeframes involved. But there are dedicated scientists who, after years of study in the Galapagos Islands, have actually observed evolution …
The world The UN Human Rights Council has released a report of an independent fact-finding mission on Myanmar that examined allegations of human rights violations by the country’s armed services against the Rohingya people. The …
One of the things that often struck me during my career as a civilian bureaucrat in the Defence Department’s capability development area was the relatively limited amount of public debate about our future armoured vehicle …
The world The world lost another one of its greats this week. Kofi Annan passed away after a short illness. Ramesh Thakur looks back at the former UN secretary-general and Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s achievements, …
One of the reasons countries support indigenous defence industries is to ensure their sovereign control over defence capabilities. The argument is that by having the ability to design, manufacture and sustain military equipment, a country …
