Asia Pacific Defence Reporter

Fresh from a holiday in Korea there was an infuriating delay in Sydney getting off the aircraft – which is not unconnected with why Defence is a mess. Then one of the most extraordinary stories about the selective use of information and how it is that we are paying the US not $3 billion to join AUKUS – but in fact $4.7 billion. This huge difference has come about because Australian decis...

Special bonus holiday podcast from Korea – and it’s free. Firstly, just a bit of tidying up around the ADEX show. Then a quick word about the situation following the Hamas October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.  Following that, a contrast between two approaches to developing a submarine-building ecosystem. Australia and South Korea both started down the same path in the mid-1980s – a...

Greetings from Seoul, the capital of South Korea. We are covering the ADEX defence equipment show that includes a huge amount of high technology gear – some of it like the Redback IFV and Huntsman SPH already known to Australians. The company Hanwha Ocean have reaffirmed their interest in supplying Australia with an air-independent conventional submarine that has lithium ion batteries, a fuel cell...

The dominant security issue in the western world is the attack by Hamas terrorists on southern Israel on October 7. Emotions are still exceptionally raw and there are limits to analysis at this point in an ongoing crisis. More than 2,000 innocent lives have already been lost – some in ways that bring back memories of the worst days of Islamic State. The response needs to be in a way...

Retiring the Taipan helicopters in 2025 was always a very bad idea – and now the decision never to return them to service is completely irrational. In making the announcement Defence Minister Richard Marles said this would cause a major capability gap – so why do it? The lack of interest in trying to understand the availability problem is stunning – and it’s an example of how poor d...

Canberra has been abuzz with the Pezzullo Affair, but it might not be of interest more broadly – so let’s examine why it matters. It goes to the heart of how Australia is run and how the cult of secrecy – particularly surrounding anything to do with Defence and national security - is having such a corrosive effect. Also, why hasn’t our embassy in Kiev reopened? It matters because th...

We can go slightly further than last time and say it is the intention of the ADF never to fly Taipan helicopters again – they will sit on the ground until they are disposed of. Who is taking these decisions when the helicopters are fine to fly and we have potentially a horror bushfire season to come? Is anyone in charge? Speaking of which, why is the Government’s response to the RAN...

We start off with a positive story about Australian defence technology making a difference in Ukraine – including a drone attack on a Russian Air Force Base using a product from a Melbourne company. But there’s more – Canberra-based EOS is also supplying short range air defence systems using 30mm Bushmaster cannons that will be extremely effective against airborne targets and which can be use...

The culture of secrecy is starting to crack with the Senate ordering Defence to release VIP flight details. Next, the main Australian supporters of nuclear powered submarines – the Prime Minister and his Deputy – could both lose their jobs, and that’s not a joke. In the US, legislation necessary for the sale of submarines is stuck in the Senate for the good reason that US needs come first.&nb...

What is the minimum number of nuclear-powered submarines you need for a viable capability? At the moment all 6 UK SSNs are tied up at Faslane. The outcome of AIR 6500 Phase 1 has been decided – and Lockheed Marin are the worthy winner. However, this seems contrary to the DSR recommendation in favour of an off-the-shelf solution, so what else will be ignored? Is MQ-28A Ghost Bat...

We start by looking at some recent missile purchase announcements – but wait; haven’t we heard all of this before? Next, to the ALP conference and the implied insult that anyone who questions AUKUS is unpatriotic. We dig into the chant that building nuclear powered submarines will mean 20,000 highly paid union jobs – but in which century? It was always the case that the Collins clas...

By the standards of Defence a $1.8 million 12-month contract with Deloitte is just a blip but it’s illustrative of money being sprayed around.  We also have a quick look at AIR 6500 – and maybe what the DSR had in mind was something completely different from what I originally thought. Maybe the hint they are giving is to look at expanding LAND 19 Phase 7 and adding on the David’s Sling m...

A key figure in Australia’s military landscape is Professor Tanya Monro, the Head of the Defence Science and Technology Group. We sought her views about the importance of National Science Week and why Defence is keen to attract the best and brightest young minds to its ranks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we look at some of the politics around Defence – and especially the AUKUS part of it. In Australia we have effectively two part-time Ministers responsible for a massive and troubled portfolio and it raises questions about whether the government has the appetite for, or the ability to carry out, reforms and improvements. Even if the nuclear-powered task force has a plan t...

In this episode we have a quick look at the perils of helicopter operations, particularly at low level and at night. Then there was the next round of AUSMIN talks and the usual Australian forelock tugging. If the US was really our friend they would offer several things: new Virginia class submarines instead of used; a refund of our $3 billion subsidy to their shipbuilding sector; and an...

Some breaking news: a decision on Land 400 Phase 3 is imminent. Then we look at the Nuclear-powered submarine taskforce and the role of ex-Human Services departmental head Kathryn Campbell. We offer some guidance to the Prime Minister: review all of the advice that has come from that task force very, very carefully. Either you are being misled – or if you know the full facts then th...

We start with some corrections and clarifications and then look at the Robodebt Royal Commission and ask: are there implications for Defence? There may well be.  The Royal Commission exposed many examples of misleading advice being provided to government – and then politicians being complicit in going along with a scheme that was illegal.  Defence has not been sending out debt notic...

When does clever marketing cross over into something more nasty – namely the selective or misleading use of information? When you are the UK trying to sell a warship to Australia, that’s when. We detail some of the shenanigans behind that one and ask how is it possible to fool of the experts in the RAN and Defence. Next is the failure to transfer Hawkei vehicles to Ukraine – and the reas...

More information has come to light on two topics of great interest: nuclear-powered submarines and the very strange purchase of SURTASS. In linked decisions of enormous consequence – taken with zero public debate or discussion – we are apparently buying two second-hand Virginia class submarines and, if that isn’t bad enough, are disposing of them in Australia. Decommissioning a nuclear submarine i...

Some more information has come from the US about the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine acquisition – and it’s no wonder the information is being suppressed in Australia.  We will receive nothing tangible for the $3 billion we are donating to the US – it will just add to the profitability of companies that are already doing very well. Who in Defence and government agrees to these things? Wh...

Enough about the budget and DSR already!  Now it’s time to have a look at AUKUS and acquiring nuclear-powered submarines – and it should surprise no one to learn that we are not being told the full story; not even close. Also a conversation with a retired USN Admiral so that people can understand what the Americans really think about Australia – and a warning, it’s not flattering. F...

In this episode: It’s worse than we thought.  The government has confirmed that Defence expenditure will decline for the next two to three years – and there’s a lot of cutting and reprioritising to come. We also discuss the perverse financial incentive for the Department to balance its books by purchasing as much as possible from overseas rather than using Australian suppliers. We c...

Looming Defence Budget disaster – in this episode, we look at the analysis of the recent Defence Budget by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), which it calls “The Big Squeeze”. The numbers don’t lie and for the next two to three years Defence will actually lose money – and the situation is even worse than it looks because of inflation.  This will almost certainly see a furt...

In this episode we continue to look at the Defence Strategic Review, which is not at all the radical policy shift that many of its boosters claim.  On the contrary, in many cases Australia is simply catching up with the rest of the world – for example with the belated planned acquisition of rocket artillery.  Also the DSR authors seem to lack an understanding of how the U.S. Foreign Mili...

Defence is one of the most consequential activities for any government. Securing the future of the nation and the lives of its citizens is about as important as it gets. To that end, Australia spends about $50 billion per year on the Australian Defence Force which is about 2% of GDP. Despite that, it doesn’t get as much in depth coverage as it should and taxpayers are left largely i...