In a recent podcast for Foreign Policy, editor David Rothkopf interviewed Thomas Friedman about his latest book—essentially an argument for why, in 2017, we should feel optimistic about the future. Friedman’s core argument is that …
Originally published 13 September 2016. ‘Anti-access/area denial’ (commonly known as A2AD) has become a hot topic in recent years. Many have detailed the threats that A2AD weapons systems pose to the US military, especially its …
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has assiduously courted Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting with him more than a dozen times in four years. This month he hosted Putin in Tokyo and in his hometown of …
Sea State One of the Su-33 Flanker-D aircraft onboard the Admiral Kuznetsov—Russia’s aircraft carrier in the Eastern Mediterranean—crashed last week. The accident was the second one in a month and occurred after one of the …
Australia’s next submarines will be the most sophisticated naval vessels under construction in the world and they will be built here in Australia with Australian workers using Australian expertise and Australian steel. The strong desire …
While it’s not the end of the world year just yet, most will be pleased to see it roll around. 2016 packed a punch, with some unnerving strategic discontinuities (take your pick but mainly) and …
The consequences of August’s #censusfail continue to reverberate in Canberra, and two reports released last week—one by the PM’s Special Adviser on Cyber Security, Alastair MacGibbon; the other by the Senate’s Economics Committee—pull no punches. …
Sea State The Indian Navy’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability received a boost this past week, with the commissioning of the INS Chennai. Equipped with two ASW helicopters as well as sophisticated sonar systems, the INS …
The US government’s largest contracted military shipbuilder, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), recently opened an office in Canberra. It seems unlikely that HII would’ve done that without encouragement from the US government, via the US Navy. …
Sea State The British Ministry of Defence last week admitted that the Royal Navy’s fleet of frigates and destroyers would be losing their primary over-the-horizon anti-surface weapons due to cost-cutting measures. The Royal Navy will …
Much of the commentary in Australia since the US election has reeked of dangerous platitudes. A lot of ‘experts’ (none of whom forecast a Trump victory) are asserting that nothing much will change: President Trump …
Sea State South Korea launched its newest submarine—the Lee Beom-seok—at a ceremony last week. Named after a famous Korean resistance fighter, the Lee Beom-seok is the eighth of a planned nine Son-Won-II-class diesel electric submarines. …