On the 22nd of October last year, the Abbott government announced a National Commission of Audit to ‘to review and report on the performance, functions and roles of the Commonwealth government’. Headed by the chairman …
China’s recent test of a Wu-14 hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) on 9 January, potentially has very serious strategic and military technological implications for stability and security in the Asia-Pacific region as noted in recent posts by …
I know that my friend Mark Thomson was being somewhat tongue in cheek when sledging defence industry, but his put-downs (and defence of DMO) can’t go without a response. There’s a lot in his piece …
The balance of military power in Asia is of critical interest to Australia and other regional states. China’s modernisation of its defence forces has led to a reorganisation of its command structure, which was announced …
My last post discussed the new air combat era of integrated manned and unmanned aircraft operations. There’s a clear technology push for the ADF to acquire Strike/ISR UAVs. But before that happens, there needs to …
The apparent confirmation that China is building its second (and first indigenous) aircraft carrier has caused quiet alarm. But it’s worth taking a ‘first principles’ look at this development, examining what China will be able …
Last week’s post introduced you to a former Secretary of Defence, Bill Pritchett, and some aspects of his career. Today, watch Pritchett do one of the most difficult things any public servant can attempt—argue with …
With the centenary of the commencement of WWI looming, many in the blogosphere have been looking for good history books to read. Historian Margaret MacMillan has a Brookings essay entitled ‘The Rhyme of History: lessons …
Ben Schreer correctly noted yesterday that the US had ‘demonstrated its will and capability to contest China’s ADIZ in East Asia’. As Daniel Russel, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs …
According to the Australian Industry Group (AIG), the headcount at the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) has grown three-fold over the past decade from 2,500 people to 7,500. Armed with this remarkable statistic, in their submission …
Jake Douglas’ recent post on The Strategist points to a serious problem for the US pivot to Asia: no matter how much Washington tries to reassure its allies and partners about its ongoing defence commitment, …
Australia’s regional foreign policy seems to have recently veered in the direction of closer support for Japan and away from a more neutral approach to the rise of China—presumably the result of a yet unannounced …
Beyond running a huge civilian workforce, the Secretary of the Defence Department is torn at by an extraordinary array of g-forces: government, generals, gear (the buying, building and running of), geopolitics and geography. On bad …
Hosting an Olympic Games tends to raise the blood pressure of anyone involved, both in terms of the opportunity it presents and the subsequent risks associated with it, and Sochi 2014 has more than its …
Canberra is kicking its cyber security activities into high gear as federal government agencies look to boost their encryption technology to thwart off spooks by turning to the private sector for innovative solutions. The government …
My new ASPI paper ‘Afghanistan—transition to transformation‘ is a look at the future of Afghanistan as the ADF mission there winds down. ‘Transition’ (2001–2014) is the primarily UN-led period designed to rebuild the basic national …
Most American policymakers are saying two things following China’s establishment of an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). (1) China’s challenge to the US-led Asian order is serious and calculated, and (2) America must get China …
As Andrew Davies mentioned last week, we’ve just held an Australia-France Defence and Industry Dialogue. We discussed a wide range of security, industry and defence cooperation issues. There was a lively discussion about the big …
Peter Layton’s recent post promoting UAVs in response to my earlier comment makes some very good points, but it’s important to remain cautious of UAVs until they’ve proven themselves at all levels of military conflict. …
As regular folks in Canberra were closing down for the summer break, Graeme Dobell was on a writing roll for The Strategist. He questioned the still freshly minted Prime Minister’s attachment to values in Australia’s …