Australia’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) program is a spending priority in the 2026 National Defence Strategy (NDS) and the accompanying spending plan, the Integrated Investment Program (IIP). Both offer signs of progress and …
The Strategist on: "ASPI staff"
China may claim neutrality and call for peace in the Middle East, but it is heavily invested in the Iran conflict. Perhaps because of its dependence on Iran for energy security, it is transferring dual-use …
Australia’s 2026 National Defence Strategy (NDS) marks a quiet but consequential shift from its predecessor, fundamentally redefining the political objective underpinning the Australian Defence Force’s five key tasks. While the 2024 strategy focused on maintaining …
Revisions to defence export controls adopted by Japan’s cabinet today demonstrate the urgency with which Tokyo is shaking up its post-war defence settings in the face of increasing international insecurity. This is good news for …
We may be living in an increasingly dangerous world, as Australia’s 16 April National Defence Strategy reaffirmed, but at least there is now more rigour and regularity in designing defence policy. In releasing the first …
So you thought that watching defence spending was complicated. Well, Australia’s new National Defence Strategy displays three different ways of counting it. There’s the Defence portfolio’s appropriation from government; the appropriation from government plus Defence’s …
The most consequential line in Washington’s new Cyber Strategy isn’t about defence. Released in early March 2026, the document makes clear that the United States intends to use offensive cyber operations as a routine instrument …
We no longer face a knowledge problem on critical minerals. We face a coordination failure, and the cost of that failure is already visible in delayed investment and persistent dependence. Governments understand the risk. Industry …
Australia’s updated defence capability spending plan has put strong emphasis on uncrewed air and underwater systems, strike weapons, and defence against advanced air and missile attack. The government released its spending plan, known as the …
Ensuring greater security self-reliance for Australia and being a more useful security partner lead to the same place. By being judicious about which military capabilities it invests in, Australia can ensure its own security, achieve …
The Australian Defence Force reserves are increasingly weighted in the country’s south and east, despite Defence strategy prioritising the north. It’s much the same pattern seen in the distribution of active ADF personnel, though for …
Defence Minister Richard Marles today announced the government’s new National Defence Strategy (NDS) and its accompanying spending outline, the Integrated Investment Program (IIP). This is Australia’s second NDS. The first, released in 2024, outlined Australia’s …