Are we preparing to fight the wrong war? That’s the question being asked increasingly frequently by Australian defence planners, especially in the RAAF. What makes some people nervous are a number of emerging disruptive technologies that …
Articles by: "Kym Bergmann"
The ANAO report Naval construction programs—mobilisation released on 14 May is a worthy attempt to summarise the issues that must be addressed as Australia ramps up its huge acquisition program for offshore patrol vessels, frigates and …
After all of the fanfare and chest beating on 26 April about how 12 submarines will be built in Adelaide: silence. By all appearances—or rather the lack of them—it seems that the Department of Defence …
James Goldrick’s recent post for The Strategist shows that many classes of submarine remain in service for a period of 30–40 years. By this calculation alone, the Collins Class won’t need to retire until the …
With the Government confirming that it has received three proposals under the future submarine competitive evaluation process (CEP) it’s worth considering where we’re headed. There’s a consensus emerging among analysts and commentators that the CEP …
It’s often said that in terms of range, what Australia is looking for in replacing the Collins-class is a nuclear submarine, but with conventional propulsion. If this assessment were taken too literally it would favor …
With continuing uncertainty in Australia about the future direction of SEA 1000, it’s both interesting and refreshing to visit Sweden to see what’s happening regarding the development of the next generation of submarines. There’s a …
Am I the only one to have noticed that for the 14 years that Australia was involved in Afghanistan and the 11 years in Iraq, every visit by a politician is a ‘surprise’? Every single …
It’s always good to spend time in Indonesia immersing oneself in the local scene and receiving a different perspective on the world. I was there for two weeks—for both a defence technology exhibition and some …
There has been a flurry of public commentary following yesterday’s News Limited claims that Australia is about to enter into a commitment to buy our next generation of submarines from Japan. The local submarine community …
Everyone seemed to miss it—a statement in public (at ASPI’s Submarine Choice conference) from the chairman of the Western world’s largest and most successful builder of conventional submarines: a fleet of 12 large state-of-the-art boats …
I refer to Peter Layton’s excellent piece following on from my original post lamenting the seeming inability of many western leaders to understand the Russian position in this unfolding mess. Peter refers in part to …