The 2020 defence strategic update released last month provides a sobering analysis of Australia’s strategic environment and the risks we must manage. The document lays out a conflation of pressing issues and concludes that ‘major …
Articles by: "Peter Dean"
Amid the debate last week over the merits of travelling to Washington for the annual AUSMIN talks and donning face masks during a global pandemic, the defence and foreign ministers of Australia and the United …
With RAN’s new amphibious assault ship HMAS Canberra continuing a series of intensive training and assessment periods, and its sister ship HMAS Adelaide readying for commission next year, Australia’s amphibious warfare capability is fast becoming …
The ADF currently lacks the tradition, culture and organisational expertise to maintain and deploy a world class amphibious warfare capability. The current command and control (C2) structures don’t adequately address the high degree of specialisation …
The ADF has developed a detailed, integrated and truly joint plan to develop and validate an impressive amphibious warfare capability by mid-2017 as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre. However this powerful joint force element will …
Peter Jennings is right. Australia is a G20 power and has global interests. But those facts must be set alongside others, not so encouraging, that relate to Australia’s position on the global stage. In all …
In the last post I concentrated on the ADF’s tasks. For this post I will add a few points about the new Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ships. The small ships and catamarans that some have …
Nic Stuart made a straightforward point last Wednesday: if you want an amphibious capability, make your case. I do, so I will. But at least there has been plenty of debate. By a rough count …
Thomas Lonergan’s piece on amphibious capabilities and Australia’s maritime strategy makes some insightful observations. One of his most poignant points is the effect that Hollywood has had on warping our images and perceptions of amphibious …
A provocative piece by American journalist Eddie Walsh is currently doing the rounds, making some bold claims about how Australians under 40 view the US–Australia alliance. Based on meetings with ‘dozens’ of Canberra diplomats, think …
The vista from the White House is very different from the “serenity” that is seen from the front lawn of the Lodge. This is evident in Andrew Smith’s post DWP 2013—what will the Americans think?. …
In Peter Layton’s recent post Australia’s many ‘maritime strategies’ he noted that: [A] maritime strategy of land force expeditionary warfare across the Indonesian archipelago… sounds somewhat reminiscent of the last days of WWII, when Australia …