Keeping the country safe is the first duty of government and should be the constant concern of those with responsibility for our well-being. But I worry that a decade or so hence, maybe sooner, Australia …
Australia’s decision to spend $50 billion on 12 French diesel-electric Shortfin Barracuda submarines reflects a long-established government preference for non-nuclear submarine forces. But will this preference remain strategically credible in future years if our strategic …
Australia has historically taken a stop-start approach to naval shipbuilding, investing in a mixture of domestic- and foreign-sourced warships at uneven increments. The current Australian government is planning to invest tens of billions of dollars …
As a number of commentators have observed, the phone call between Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen and US president-elect Donald Trump has set a cat among the pigeons. It has breached a practice in place since 1979 …
There’s a growing intimacy between two of Asia’s big naval powers and it’s causing disquiet among regional watchers and maritime policymakers. Russia and China are growing closer in the nautical realm, much to the chagrin …
The art and science of naval command has traditionally been passed on from captain to captain through tutelage and mentoring. Cook and Nelson, in particular, trained many junior officers who went on to illustrious careers …
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has been the ultimate symbol of American power and prestige for decades. These vessels are both incredibly capable and incredibly expensive. However, the combination of the proliferation of long range anti-access/area …
One of the Great War’s abiding myths is that the German High Sea Fleet never emerged again after the Battle of Jutland to face the Grand Fleet until the ignominious internment of its major units …
Editor’s note: The Strategist has invited all three SEA 1000 contenders to explain their approach to meeting Australia’s future submarine requirement. Germany undoubtedly has led the world into a fourth ‘industrial revolution’—Industry 4.0. With limited …
The ADF has evidently looked at the recent development of land-based anti-ship missile (LBASM) capabilities in East Asia and decided it wants in (see paragraph 4.46 in the 2016 Defence White Paper). The Integrated Investment …
In my previous post, I recommended Australia develop a networked Theatre ASW (TASW) capability—including building its own Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS)—as an essential capability in the face of likely Chinese PLA-N operations in our …
With the Government confirming that it has received three proposals under the future submarine competitive evaluation process (CEP) it’s worth considering where we’re headed. There’s a consensus emerging among analysts and commentators that the CEP …