Sea state The Royal Navy’s HMS Montrose shadowed two Russian warships as they traversed the English Channel. The frigate tailed the two Steregushi-class corvettes as they progressed off the Danish and Dutch coasts before slowly …
So, the nine new Hunter-class anti-submarine warfare frigates will be built by BAE Systems in Osborne, South Australia, with ASC Shipbuilding acting as BAE’s subsidiary over the decades-long, $35 billion shipbuilding program. The decision raises …
The Australian National Audit Office’s public assessments of the health of major Department of Defence projects are invaluable—but the fact that the ANAO isn’t yet reporting on the $80-billion future submarine program or the $35-billion …
ASPI has released its annual The Cost of Defence budget brief, the first of the post–Mark Thomson era. As in previous years, this edition seeks to demystify the defence budget, as well as explore some …
Sea state Australia’s third and final Hobart-class Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) was launched in a ceremony last weekend. NUSHIP Sydney was built by ASC at Osborne Naval Shipyard, South Australia, and is based on Spanish …
The Australian government is close to deciding which of the three big foreign companies wins the $35 billion contract to build nine antisubmarine warfare frigates for the Navy. We examine the SEA 5000 Future Frigate program’s three …
The ANAO report Naval construction programs—mobilisation released on 14 May is a worthy attempt to summarise the issues that must be addressed as Australia ramps up its huge acquisition program for offshore patrol vessels, frigates and …
In its 50‑page review of the implementation of Australia’s naval shipbuilding program, the Australian National Audit Office managed to avoid using the word ‘shambles’. That’s more than I can manage. We’re only at the starting …
The government is weighing up its options when it comes to the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability requirements for the forthcoming decision on Project SEA 5000—the multi-billion dollar future frigate project. The proliferation of submarines in the Indo-Pacific …
The government may be planning to get into surplus in 2019–20, a year earlier than it looked like last year, but that doesn’t mean it has also brought forward its commitment to increase the Defence …
Sea state Spain and Saudi Arabia have finalised a €2 billion deal to supply five Avante 2200 corvettes to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. Constructed by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia, the Avante 2200 corvettes are based …
In the 1982 movie Conan the Barbarian, Conan laments ‘Crom is strong! If I die, I have to go before him, and he will ask me, “What is the riddle of steel?” If I don’t …