Continued Chinese maritime ‘gray zone’ aggression in the South China Sea (as well as further afield) requires that Australia make strategic choices now to avoid being militarily dominated or economically marginalised by Beijing in the …
Search Results for "submarines"
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 …
Sea State The claws are out in the battle for the Australia’s $50 billion future submarine contract, with French contender DCNS claiming last week that Japan’s plan to install high-tech lithium ion batteries in the …
A key challenge in the coming years for Australia will be the PLA’s growing ability to project military power beyond what Chinese military thinkers deem to be the first and second island chains (see map …
James Goldrick’s recent post for The Strategist shows that many classes of submarine remain in service for a period of 30–40 years. By this calculation alone, the Collins Class won’t need to retire until the …
The recently published history of the British submarine service since 1945, The Silent Deep by Peter Hennessy and James Jinks, contains much food for thought for those interested in Australia’s future submarine capability. One particular …
The 2016 Defence White Paper mentions ‘unmanned’ systems 15 times. The accompanying Integrated Investment Plan (IIP) [pdf] has 39 references. The government has clear ambitions to purchase UAVs for maritime surveillance and airborne strike, with …
Sea State Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has been selected as the preferred tenderer for the $1.2 billion contract to construct two auxiliary oiler and replenishment vessels for RAN, Defence Minister Marise Payne confirmed last week. The …
The current strategic/political argument to buy Japanese submarines doesn’t stand up against a $50+ billion life cycle submarine project for acquisition, sustainment and upgrades which will run until at least until 2060. Alan Behm’s recent …
The record of the RAN’s Oberon- and Collins-class submarines shows that diesel-electric submarines can perform valuable long-range operations. However, Australia’s range and endurance requirements are much closer to the operating profiles of other nations’ nuclear-powered …
The US Navy’s USS John C. Stennis carrier strike group has recently concluded a five-day ‘routine patrol’ in the South China Sea. Accompanied by several US vessels based in Japan, at first glance it appears …
The contrast between the replacement for the existing Collins class submarines and the F-111 strike fighter is instructive. Governments didn’t replace the F-111 with the similarly sized F15 fighter, let alone require a much bigger …