Happy New Year! 2014 started off with a bang in the cyber world with FireEye dropping a cool billion+ to scoop up Mandiant. The cyber forensics firm made waves last year after publicising the existence …
Once upon a time, in the early 1970s, the Departments of Defence, Navy, Army, Air Force and Supply employed over 51,000 civilians to support 122,000 military members (comprising 81,000 permanent ADF, 26,000 reservists, 12,000 National …
In part 1 of my post, I observed that the next Defence White Paper (DWP) will build upon its seven predecessors. That post looked inward at the resourcing shortcomings that DWPs generally feature. This post …
We saw yesterday how geography helps determine the number of submarines required for a credible deterrent capability. But that’s not the end of the story. The characteristics of the submarines themselves are also important. For …
In a recently reprinted Strategist post, Peter Layton examines the challenges facing the USAF in sustaining adequate numbers of capable fighter aircraft in an era of financial austerity and indeterminate threat. His excellent analysis closes …
In my earlier post ‘Why submarines for Australia?’ I flagged the Chief of Navy’s emphasis on criticality of the maritime environment for Australia’s prosperity, the impact of growing regional maritime power, need to look for …
Welcome back from the break! We’ve kicked off this year’s blogging with Rod Lyon on the security landscape in Asia for 2014 and Peter Jennings on lessons from the 1987 white paper. But if you’ve already made your way through …
Defence Minister David Johnston got a late Christmas present in the form of the National Archives’ release of Cabinet papers from 1986 and 1987. In this trove—surely among the last Cabinet papers to be produced …
We enter 2014 with the Asian security mosaic as complicated as it’s been in a long while. The two rising regional great powers, China and India, are still rising but at least in China’s case …
This post was originally published on November 12, 2012. (The Strategist will return with new material on Monday January 6, 2014) Andrew Davies’ graph of the week about the elderly USAF tactical fighter fleet raises …
Originally published 26 June 2014. China continues to try changing the status quo in the South China Sea (SCS) through bullying its smaller neighbours and creating more facts on the ground. After moving an oil …
This post was originally published on November 6, 2012. (The Strategist will return with new material on January 6, 2014 – Ed.) Our Antarctic claim is about the size of Australia, minus Queensland. So it’s …
These posts were orignally published on 11 and 14 Dec 2012 respectively. (The Strategist will return with new material on January 6, 2014 – Ed.) 1. Getting carried away (Harry White) In last Wednesday’s Autumn …
This post was originally published on November 2, 2012. (The Strategist will return with new material on January 6, 2014 – Ed.) Having had the privilege [in 2012] of participating in the United States Study …
This post was originally published on November 8, 2012 (The Strategist will return with new material on January 6, 2014 – Ed.) The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) is often overlooked as a regional security …
Originally published October 9, 2012. (This post was the final in a series by regular contributor Peter Layton on the topic of grand strategy. The previous ones are linked in the text and at the …
Originally published December 19, 2012. With ANZUS a core pillar of our own strategic policy, it should come as no surprise that Australians frequently turn (and return) to the subject of just how reliable that …
Originally published September 26, 2012. (This piece was written before the current ructions between the two countries over Australia’s intelligence activities. Its point about Australia needing to take account of Indonesia’s views in the development …
Originally published 17 July 2012 (While looking forward to the defence white paper of 2013, this post—incidentally The Strategist‘s first—contains plenty of observations that are germane to the planned next defence white paper. Oh, and …
Originally published Jan 14, 2013. One of the things I like most about the summer break is the opportunity to catch up on some reading. This time around one of the items on my reading …