One of my colleagues told me on Monday morning that we were going to get a ‘semi-announcement’ on Australia’s submarine basing that day. The government has been making quite a lot of semi-announcements lately about …
Articles by: "Marcus Hellyer"
A week and a half since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, here are nine observations of the key aspects and developments in the most serious conflict in Europe since World War II. Observation 1 Just as …
When the United States offered to evacuate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky two days after Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of his country, he replied, ‘The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.’ Many …
It’s a brutal time to be a Commonwealth public servant working on the budget. Portfolio additional estimates statements—the mid-year budget update for portfolio agencies—were tabled on Friday, yet with the 2022–23 budget brought forward to …
The latest revelations about the Royal Australian Navy’s Hunter-class frigates confirm much of what we knew about the problems besetting the program, but add a level of granularity far beyond the general admissions made by …
Editors’ picks for 2021: ‘Australia’s nuclear submarine decision leaves more questions than answers’
Originally published 30 September 2021. It is correct, as former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has asserted, that few of the questions raised by the government’s announcement that Australia will acquire nuclear-propelled submarines (SSNs) have been answered. …
On 16 September 2021, the Australian government announced that it would acquire a nuclear-powered submarine capability with support from the UK and the US as the first measure of business under the AUKUS technology-sharing partnership. …
The sad saga of the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter has been running for a long time. Back when I worked in the Department of Defence, we used to occupy ourselves from time to time calculating how …
At Senate estimates hearings on 24 March of this year, the independent Senator Malcolm Roberts bluntly asked Defence Department officials, ‘If the last sub will be delivered in the 2040s and the first delivery is …
Serious risks are being realised in the Royal Australian Navy’s twin transitions in its surface combatant and submarine fleets. As Australia’s strategic circumstances become more dangerous, Defence needs to adopt hedging measures to actively address …
In my previous post, I looked at some of the issues involved in the Royal Australian Navy acquiring or leasing older nuclear-powered attack submarines from the UK to jump-start Australia’s own SSN program. In summary, …
In case you’ve just arrived from Mars, the Australian government has announced it will acquire, with the assistance of the United States and United Kingdom, a fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) that will be …