With RAN’s new amphibious assault ship HMAS Canberra continuing a series of intensive training and assessment periods, and its sister ship HMAS Adelaide readying for commission next year, Australia’s amphibious warfare capability is fast becoming …
The ADF currently lacks the tradition, culture and organisational expertise to maintain and deploy a world class amphibious warfare capability. The current command and control (C2) structures don’t adequately address the high degree of specialisation …
The ADF has developed a detailed, integrated and truly joint plan to develop and validate an impressive amphibious warfare capability by mid-2017 as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre. However this powerful joint force element will …
Andrew Davies’ three First Principles Review (FPR) posts on contestability (here, here, and here) make interesting reading for anyone who has been on both sides of capability arguments. While I agree with most of what …
Some analysts have recently observed that Australia isn’t complying with its International Energy Agency obligations—it’s the only member of the International Energy Agency (IEA) that doesn’t have a 90-day supply of strategic petroleum reserves. But …
How times change. Yemen has fallen to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and the situation on the Arabian Peninsula’s more uncertain than ever. Just a few months ago, President Obama was touting the success of the …
Young strategists are often in the market for book recommendations. Though I’m not particularly inclined to write reviews, I’d strongly recommend Robert Haddick’s Fire on the Water: China, America and the future of the Pacific …
Below is an extract from ASPI’s forthcoming publication Strike from the air: the first 100 days of the campaign against ISIL. Click here to register for the publication’s free launch event. The US has had …
Today’s a great day for the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Defence Force. It marks the commissioning of that $1.5 billion, 27,800-tonne behemoth soon to be known as HMAS Canberra. But as much as …
Our friends at the land power forum blog run by the Directorate of Future Land Warfare have just published an important report on Australian special operations. Written by LTCOL Ian Langford, the report provides policy …
Some weeks ago it was already clear that the Abbott government would face tough decisions about Iraq in the near future. That assessment was correct but understated. To be successful, Australia’s political and military leaders …
Unconventional warfare isn’t popular among Western strategists these days. Whether it’s supporting insurgent groups (the strict definition) or supporting militias allied with government forces, proxy warfare has a bad reputation. The complex situation in Syria …