In my initial analysis of the 2019–20 Defence budget, I suggested that in the four budgets since the 2016 defence white paper, the actual funding that the government has provided to Defence has come remarkably …
Articles by: "Marcus Hellyer"
As I discussed in part 2 of this series, the Anzacs are high-quality frigates. They will likely age gradually but gracefully over the next 24 years on their journey to eventual retirement. But the issue …
In part 1, I discussed how the Anzac class of frigates is only halfway through its service life and the last of the class now needs to remain in service until 2042–43 as the new …
The Defence budget continues to deliver as expected. As forecast last year, there will be a modest increase in 2019–20 of around 1.2% in real terms, to $38,742 million (including both the Department of Defence …
Moving from the Collins-class submarines to the Attack class is not the only long and complex capability transition that the Royal Australian Navy is embarking upon. The journey from the current Anzac-class frigates to the …
Ever since the stunning US success in the 1991 Gulf War, we have increasingly come to take precision bombing for granted. While militaries may sometimes misidentify a target, we assume that they can precisely hit …
The future submarine has achieved key milestones with the signing of the overarching strategic partnering agreement on 11 February and in quick succession the design contract on 5 March. This is good news for the …
In the lead-up to each federal election, ASPI releases its Agenda for change: Strategic choices for the next government to help shape election platforms and public debate. This year the report contains 30 short essays …
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 …