As Australia approaches a decision concerning its acquisition of a next-generation submarine, it faces several crucial questions, not least of which is whether to build this submarine in Australia or buy it off-the-shelf from a …
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey proved once more this week he’s in a league of his own, securing a thumping victory for his neo-Islamist Justice and Development party in Sunday’s re-run of June’s general …
Vladimir Putin once said that he knew where Australia was but never thought about it. Australian leaders too have seldom had reason to think about post-Soviet Russia—until recently. But as Russia has become more ‘assertive’ …
Last week, the US Senate approved the CISA or Cyber Security Information Sharing Act. Among the bill’s main provisions is a proposal to expand liability protections to companies that voluntarily share threat information with the …
Editor’s note: As governments and other global stakeholders work to refine their talking points and targets in advance of the COP21 meetings in Paris, The Strategist today launches a series that will consider a wide range …
John Howard didn’t have too much support from Australian intelligence in deciding to go to war against Iraq. The Prime Minister got just enough cover from the Office of National Assessments to meet political needs. …
Sea State After the much publicised US Lassen’s voyage through contested waters in the South China Sea last week, the US Chief of naval operations Admiral John Richardson and his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Wu Shengli, held …
It’s been five years since ASPI last took a detailed look at the capability of the ADF. Our 2010 Capability Review series looked at each of the services and the overall ability of the …
For a number of reasons, it wasn’t surprising to see Canada’s incoming government announce its intention of revisiting the former government’s decision to buy the F-35A Joint Strike fighter for the Royal Canadian Air Force. …
In a recent comment piece in The Australian, Peter Jennings urges action in the South China Sea. He’s quite correct. China’s island-building activities are clearly demonstrating Beijing’s determination to fundamentally alter the current situation by …
Australia helped bring disaster to Iraq. As an eager ally, we were present at the creation of a regional catastrophe that just keeps on growing. Today’s horror means that Australia’s past role in Iraq is …
This week’s most talked about security development has been the freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) conducted by the USS Lassen within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef, one of China’s controversial artificial islands. For multiple …
Following the freedom of navigation patrols operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea (SCS) by the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen, a key question is whether Washington’s allies will also signal to China that its ‘land …
I enjoyed the opportunity to attend the Joint Warfare Conference last week, and appreciate Andrew Davies’ inspiration to write about ‘jointness’ and its relevance to 21st century warfighting. Andrew’s case rests on some pertinent examples in recent …
On 30 September, Russian aircraft began bombarding rebel and Islamic State targets in Syria, heralding a new phase in Syria’s long and bloody civil war. The Russian attacks were accompanied by an assembling of pro-regime …
A recent post on The Strategist wrote persuasively about the potential offered by robots for future naval shipbuilding productivity, urging each of the three SEA 1000 Competitive Evaluation Process contenders to include robot research and …
The Beat Social media and public service risk There’s a new niche market potentially targeted by identity criminals: young public servants on social media. Australian Crime Commission Chief Executive Chris Dawson has identified increasing use …
Recent reports that the Obama administration has begun pursuing US Senate approval for ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty don’t sound entirely credible. It might be that the administration wants to flag the issue …
In part 1, I looked at some industry and cost issues associated with an automatic transition of the AN/BYG-1 combat system from Collins to the Future Submarine. In this post, I’ll grapple with capability issues. As …
The US Government is up in arms this week over Apple’s unwillingness to provide backdoors into its software. The iPhone 5s of a man charged with distributing meth has been deemed evidence in an investigation, …