Just for a change, there’s a bit of heat around discussions of the future of armour and surface ships. I thought ASPI analyst William Leben’s recent Strategist piece was a good one in its attempt …
Recent analysis (PDF) and commentary by ASPI (echoed elsewhere) has questioned the wisdom of the Government’s intent for a new fleet of surface ships. These concerns boil down to the presumed vulnerability of such vessels …
This post is a contribution to a series leading to ASPI’s Future Surface Fleet Conference at the end of March. Sam Bateman’s recent post identified problems with our national commitment to the Antarctic and the …
Over decades, a truism has matured that modern technology, surveillance systems and weapons have evolved to the point where surface warships will not survive in a high intensity conflict. So, given the major increase in …
As always, one admires James Goldrick’s spirited defence of the importance of sea control to Australia’s defence strategy, and of the priority for major warships in our force structure. He suspects sceptics like me of …
Once again, Hugh White has put the cat among the pigeons; this time, by questioning the wisdom of the government’s shipbuilding plans. Within days, we had responses from a retired admiral and no less than …
We’ve had plenty of defence announcements so far this year. Many have rightly focused on Australia’s situation and vulnerabilities as an island trading nation, one whose daily survival depends on the fuel, fertiliser, pharmaceuticals and …
Released 10 months after the defence strategic review (DSR), the annexed and long-awaited review of the Royal Australian Navy’s surface combatant fleet has finally brought some much-needed clarity on the RAN’s ambitions to expand and …
As Australia awarded itself an ill-thought-out peace dividend at the end of the Cold War, the impact fell hardest on the Navy’s surface combatant fleet. Arguably no element was thought through more thoroughly for the …
On 17 November, SpaceX made a second attempt to launch its fully reusable launch vehicle, Starship Superheavy, from the company’s Boca Chica launch site in Texas. The first launch (video here, with launch at 44:48), …
The analysis of the Royal Australian Navy’s surface combatant fleet that flowed from the defence strategic review (DSR) has been presented to the government but no decisions on new capabilities will be announced until 2024. …
The possible outcome of the review of the Royal Australian Navy’s surface combatant fleet has generated a fair amount of public commentary, some of which has focused much too closely on specific solutions. In particular, …