The reduced Collins-class submarine Life-of-Type Extension (LOTE) program, announced on 19 May, will cost more than previously expected and deliver less capability. The government’s decision to cut back the scope of the work also increases …
Debate: "General"
Each wet season, Northern Australia and the wider Oceania region are reminded that climate stress is no longer episodic. Cyclones, floods, extreme heat, infrastructure failure and displacement arrive with uncomfortable frequency. And they are becoming …
Australia urgently needs sovereign biomanufacturing capability to reduce its exposure to fragile global supply chains, especially those tied to agri-food systems. A national biomanufacturing strategy is essential to achieve this. China and the United States …
The US Air Force just revealed that it was launching a study of a new heavy bomber that might replace the Boeing B-52. The analysis of alternatives in the FY27 budget will look at ‘future …
China’s influence in Solomon Islands is likely to weather the accession to power on 15 May of a prime minister who’s less favourable to it than his predecessor. While Australia has improved its relationship with …
Southeast Asian countries looking for security against China should shift the weight of their defence spending to deploying highly mobile, mostly inexpensive equipment that it would struggle to counter. These would be strike missiles, cheap …
Late in April, a batch of American-made M1A2 Abrams tanks arrived by sea in the Port of Taipei. The 28 M1A2s are the last of 108 Abrams tanks that Taiwan bought from the United States …
Spyware, once primarily used by intelligence agencies and nation-states, has become a tool of intimate partner abuse, quietly deployed against people – mostly women – who have no idea they are being watched. In an …
Australian defence policy focuses too much on the risk of high-intensity, mostly conventional conflict at large cost to capabilities for peacekeeping and humanitarian support, its most likely military operations. Many costly new equipment priorities, such …
Litigation by the Chinese lessee of Darwin Port is an attempt at stymying the Australian government’s stated aim of returning the facility to Australian control. The case started at the World Bank is no mere …
The lesson of Anthropic’s new Claude Mythos AI model, with potent hacking capabilities, is becoming clear: in the era of increasingly powerful AI, national security priorities will prevail. Countries like Australia can’t assume they’ll always …
Supply chains built for efficiency are colliding with a world defined by disruption. In this context, Australia now faces a structural challenge in securing critical inputs such as fuel and fertiliser. Government, industry and consumers …