What defence forces should Australia maintain at a time of strategic uncertainty and rapid technological change? This is the fundamental question currently facing Stephen Smith and Angus Houston, the authors of the defence strategic review. …
The government has said the Australian Defence Force requires greater long-range strike capability. This was first stated in the previous government’s 2020 defence strategic update, which emphasised the need for ‘self-reliant deterrent effects’. The current …
A term that was unknown only a week or so ago has entered the lexicon of Australian strategic thought: ‘impactful projection’. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles first used it in an …
In 1946, US President Harry Truman, addressing Congress on the state of the Lend-Lease program, observed: ‘On balance, the contribution made by Australia, a country having a population of about 7 million, approximately equalled that …
The two independent leads of Australia’s defence strategic review, Stephen Smith and Angus Houston, have got their work cut out for them. The terms of reference require the reviewers to assess Australia’s strategic circumstances, recommend …