Sparks of light

The world has seen a surge of violence in recent years, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Hamas’ attack on Israel and conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, but even at the worst of times, people can rise to the challenge.

War by any other name

The real danger of cyberwarfare is not that it will replace physical military operations, but that it will incite them.

If you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail

Australia must invest in a range of industrial, logistical and military capabilities to improve its war fighting capability and deter Chinese aggression.

The rocky road from concept to combat

The way industry, the army and military scientists worked together to harden the Bushmaster against ever more devastating IEDs offers a model of effective defence cooperation.

Russia and China’s different tacks on information warfare

Both Russia and China use social media and propaganda to subvert democratic nations, but they go about their task in different ways.

The Saudi oil strike shows the new way of war

Australia’s defence planners must learn the lessons the attack on Abqaiq teach us about the risks of sticking with traditional mindsets and maintaining old paradigms in the face of rapid changes in warfare.

A century on: remembering the Australians who fought in the Russian Civil War

The Russian Civil War killed as many as 10 million people and the Bolshevik victory gave a bloody birth to the Soviet state. Small numbers of Western forces fought the communists, including a handful of Australians in the wake of the Great War.

Would cockroaches really survive a nuclear war?

Cockroaches have a reputation for resilience, even when it comes to surviving a nuclear bomb and radiation – but would they really outlive us all? Exposed to radiation, cockroaches fare worse than the humble fruit fly.

Australia faces an unprecedented set of security challenges

The international security environment is on the cusp of significant change and the national defence debate must be broadened thematically yet narrowed geographically if the ADF is to protect Australian people.

Alliances in the time of hybrid warfare

The US–Australia partnership must develop in this time of increasing super-power competition to take account of the changing forms and complexities of tactics and warfare.

Defence must adapt fast, or fail

The overwhelming speed of technological development means armed forces must change their approach to everything from who they recruit and train to how targets are attacked and how a nation defends itself.

An army is made of its people

The 100th anniversary of the Battle of Hamel has been remembered as the first time American troops fought under an Australian general and a textbook study of how to plan an attack. However the individual stories from the battle underline the fact that an army is only as good as its people.