• Plan B for President Z

    Kim Beazley     |      March 14, 2024

    It seems unthinkable, but the re-election of Donald Trump to the American presidency remains a real possibility, with calamitous implications not only for the United States and western Liberal democracy but Australia’s defence plans.

  • Sabotage down under

    Sarah Kendall     |      March 1, 2024

    The Western world is under constant attack from Russian, Chinese, Iranian and North Korean hackers, spies and saboteurs, and Australia is not immune from foreign intrusion.

  • Ukraine at the crossroads

    Stefan Wolff     |      February 27, 2024

    Divided Americans and apathetic Europeans must double down on military, economic and political support for Ukraine or risk the spectre of a resurgent Vladimir Putin gloating in victory.

  • Ships still have a place at sea

    Brendan Nicholson     |      February 23, 2024

    Despite the growing lethality of anti-ship missiles and hunter-killer submarines, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, the head of Australia’s Navy, firmly believes that surface sea power still has a major role to play in modern conflicts.

  • Is bigger big enough?

    Malcolm Davis     |      February 22, 2024

    The Federal Government’s plan to expand Australian naval power is welcome, although the review tacitly accepts that a lack of manpower is as big a problem as a lack of modern ships and missile firepower.

  • Navy 2.0

    Peter Layton     |      February 21, 2024

    The Federal government has unveiled its plan to revamp the Australian Navy, but given the struggles of recent ship procurement projects, will it solve our current problems – or just create new ones?

  • Final voyage

    Jennifer Parker     |      February 10, 2024

    The 60th anniversary of the loss of HMAS Voyager after a collision with the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne prompts us to remember the 82 brave men who lost their lives in peacetime as they trained to defend their country.

  • Maritime security in Southeast Asia

    Shaun Cameron     |      February 8, 2024

    Southeast Asia’s maritime environment faces threats from piracy, slavery, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. A maritime security program tailored for the region may address these issues while drawing partners closer to Australia.

  • Drone wars

    Bradley Perrett     |      January 29, 2024

    Small, cheap, quadcopter drones have emerged as a major threat on modern battlefields from Ukraine to Yemen, so how can western armies shoot them down?

  • Reopening the Mitrokhin archive

    Chris Taylor     |      January 27, 2024

    Tuesday 23 January marked 20 years since the passing of a Russian defector whose revelations confirmed the egregious nature of Soviet intelligence operations and global interference during the Cold War.

  • Australia’s vanishing surface fleet

    Kim Beazley     |      January 22, 2024

    Australia’s navy is a fraction of its former size, and the focus on nuclear powered hunter killer submarines means there is little money left to expand the number of surface combatants.

  • Navy blues

    Bob Ford     |      December 24, 2023

    Australia’s failure to contribute a ship to allied efforts in the Red Sea to protect civilian shipping exemplifies a broader failure to support our allies and invest properly in naval capability.