The five-domains update
Posted By
Joshua Dunne, Jasmine Latimore, Yvonne Lau, Stephan Robin and Ben Stevens
on July 15, 2022 @ 12:30
Sea state
Australia is taking part in the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, US-led RIMPAC. This year,
26 nations are participating. The Royal Australia Navy’s
commitment to RIMPAC 2022 includes 1,600 personnel,
three ships and possibly a Collins-class submarine. Australia will also participate in the
Pacific Dragon and Pacific Vanguard naval exercises with Japan, South Korea and the US. The ramping up of Australia’s capabilities and regional presence is part of a multilateral effort to ‘
promote a free and open Indo-Pacific’ in light of China’s expansive ambitions in the region.
The Guardian-class patrol boats gifted to Pacific island nations by Australia as part of the $2.1 billion
Pacific Maritime Security Program have been found to have serious defects,
including carbon monoxide leaks. While shipbuilder Austal and the Defence Department
plan to repair the defects, the faulty patrol boats
may erode trust among Australia’s Pacific partners, at a time when Australia is increasingly threatened by
China’s push into the region.
Flight path
Four American B-2 stealth bombers have landed at Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley in Queensland. The bombers are
visiting as part of the enhanced air cooperation initiative between the US and Australia that
aims to improve interoperability between their air forces. The US Air Force says the deployment also exhibits the
continued ‘readiness and lethality of [America’s] long-range penetrating strike force’. The exercise demonstrates both the ongoing efforts to strengthen the Australia–US alliance and the US’s desire to retain a potent military force in the region.
Last week, the US Navy
revealed that a Super Hornet aboard the USS
Harry S. Truman was blown off the aircraft carrier’s flight deck, reportedly
due to unexpectedly stormy conditions. In such situations,
standard practice is for unsecured equipment to be chained to the flight deck to prevent premature disembarkations. The navy is
reviewing ways to recover the US$75-million aircraft. The incident is a reminder of the
vulnerability of military assets to weather events that are likely to become more extreme due to climate change.
Rapid fire
The US is sending four more
M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, to Ukraine. They’re part of a US$400 million package that includes military equipment and supplies like tactical vehicles, demolition munitions, counter-battery systems and spare parts. The eight HIMARS already received by Ukraine have been particularly useful in
destroying Russian ammunition depots in the Donbas region, where the fighting has turned towards an artillery-based war of attrition.
The US Marine Rotational Force—Darwin has joined the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force for
Exercise Koolendong, which began this week in the Northern Territory and will run until 2 August. The drills are designed to simulate a response to a regional security crisis and will include elements of a combined joint littoral combat operation. Troops and vehicles will
move from Darwin to Broome in Western Australia to ‘replicate the long distances and austere environments we might operate in throughout the Indo-Pacific’, a US Marines spokesperson said.
Final frontier
The US Space Force has started drafting a new strategy for procuring services for
medium and heavy rocket launches following a fresh push by the US House Armed Services Committee. The space force
had awarded five-year contracts to United Launch Alliance and SpaceX for more than 30 planned launches between 2022 and 2027, but those contracts are set to end in 2024. The signing of new deals will allow the force to proceed with planned launches and to test new capabilities.
South Korea announced plans to
invest $871 million to develop more facilities at the Naro Space Center, following the
successful launch of the nation’s first domestically developed rocket from the centre, which is on an island in the south of the country, on 21 June. An attempt to
launch a satellite into orbit in October was unsuccessful, but the recent success has sparked renewed government interest. The successful test and new funds will significantly enhance South Korea’s bid to establish a comprehensive independent space program.
Wired watchtower
Cybersecurity firm SentinelOne recently
published analysis suggesting that state-backed Chinese hackers are targeting Russian government agencies at an increasing rate. The research found
continued efforts by the Tonto Team APT group, a suspected Chinese state-sponsored cyberespionage group, to compromise Russian entities using malicious documents that exploit system vulnerabilities. These espionage activities
highlight the geopolitical complexity of relations between the two countries, despite Beijing’s public support of Moscow and their ‘no limits’ partnership.
The British Army
confirmed on Sunday that its official Twitter and YouTube accounts had been hacked. The name, profile photo, banner picture and description of the army’s Twitter
page were altered to promote a non-fungible token collection dubbed
The Possessed. On the army’s
YouTube channel, all videos were deleted and the name was changed to resemble an investment firm called Ark Invest. The two accounts were then used to promote NFT scams and cryptocurrencies. Both accounts were restored
on Sunday evening and the army
reported on Twitter that an investigation was underway.
Joshua Dunne, Jasmine Latimore, Yvonne Lau, Stephan Robin and Ben Stevens are research interns at ASPI. Image: Department of Defence.
Article printed from The Strategist: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au
URL to article: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-five-domains-update-154/
[1] 26 nations: https://thediplomat.com/2022/07/us-led-rimpac-worlds-largest-maritime-exercise-starts-without-china-or-taiwan/
[2] commitment to RIMPAC 2022: https://asiapacificdefencereporter.com/adf-joins-rimpac/
[3] three ships: https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/06/australia-and-new-zealand-are-sending-their-largest-warships-to-rimpac/
[4] Pacific Dragon and Pacific Vanguard: https://news.defence.gov.au/media/media-releases/full-steam-ahead-royal-australian-navy-deployments
[5] promote a free and open Indo-Pacific: https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/06/rimpac-2022-officially-kicks-off/
[6] Pacific Maritime Security Program: https://www.defence.gov.au/programs-initiatives/pacific-engagement/maritime-capability
[7] including carbon monoxide leaks: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/2-1-billion-guardian-class-patrol-boats-for-pacific-island-nations-have-major-flaws-20220630-p5ay1j.html
[8] plan to repair the defects: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-01/guardian-class-patrol-boat-issues/101197634
[9] may erode trust: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/01/serious-defects-discovered-in-patrol-boats-australia-supplied-to-pacific-islands
[10] China’s push: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/26/things-arent-going-back-australia-braces-for-step-up-in-chinas-pacific-push
[11] Four: https://www.theage.com.au/national/queensland/stealth-bombers-fly-into-brisbane-in-us-show-of-force-to-region-20220712-p5b0zb.html
[12] visiting: https://australianaviation.com.au/2022/07/photos-b-2-spirit-stealth-bombers-visit-amberley/
[13] aims: https://defence.gov.au/Initiatives/USFPI/Home/EAC.asp
[14] continued: https://asiapacificdefencereporter.com/b-2-spirit-stealth-bombers-deploy-to-raaf-base-amberley/
[15] revealed: https://theaviationist.com/2022/07/11/super-hornet-blown-off-uss-truman/
[16] due to unexpectedly stormy conditions: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/07/11/super-hornet-aircraft-carrier-weather/
[17] standard practice: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/6186768/uss-harry-s-truman-cvn-75-transits-atlantic-ocean
[18] reviewing: https://news.usni.org/2022/07/11/navy-weighing-recovery-of-super-hornet-lost-in-mediterranean-sea
[19] vulnerability: http://cfr.org/blog/climate-change-threat-military-security
[20] M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems: https://www.defensenews.com/land/2022/07/08/us-to-send-more-himars-precision-rockets-to-ukraine/
[21] destroying Russian: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jul/11/ukraine-says-us-made-himars-rockets-are-game-chang/
[22] Exercise Koolendong: https://news.defence.gov.au/media/media-releases/defence-and-us-marines-hold-warfighting-exercise-across-top-end
[23] move from Darwin to Broome: https://www.stripes.com/branches/marine_corps/2022-07-12/marines-australia-koolendong-6624676.html
[24] medium and heavy rocket launches: https://www.defensenews.com/battlefield-tech/space/2022/06/29/space-force-mulls-new-acquisition-approach-for-next-phase-of-medium-heavy-launches/
[25] had awarded five-year contracts: https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/08/07/spacex-and-ula-win-massive-national-security-launch-contracts/
[26] invest $871 million: https://www.dw.com/en/south-koreas-new-space-program-reaches-for-the-stars/a-62312133
[27] successful launch: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Aerospace-Defense/South-Korea-succeeds-in-2nd-home-developed-space-rocket-attempt
[28] launch a satellite: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Aerospace-Defense/South-Korea-fails-to-put-satellite-into-orbit-on-domestic-rocket2
[29] published analysis: https://www.cyberscoop.com/china-hacks-russia-ukraine-espionage-nato/
[30] continued efforts: https://www.sentinelone.com/labs/targets-of-interest-russian-organizations-increasingly-under-attack-by-chinese-apts/
[31] highlight the geopolitical complexity: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/world/asia/china-hackers-russia.html
[32] confirmed: https://twitter.com/BritishArmy/status/1543688455145807873
[33] page were altered: https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/3/23193668/british-army-youtube-twitter-accounts-hacked-promote-crypto-scam-fraud
[34] YouTube channel: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/04/uk-armys-twitter-and-youtube-accounts-hacked-to-promote-crypto-scams.html
[35] on Sunday evening: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62030644
[36] reported on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DefenceHQPress/status/1543712039734059008