In the first part of this series, we saw that by late 2015, before the Defence Department had received industry responses in the competitive evaluation process for selecting the designer and builder of the future …
There have been claims in the media and by various commentators that the cost of Australia’s future submarine program has gone up. The Defence Department insists that it hasn’t. So, who’s right? Unfortunately, nothing is …
Australia’s strategic circumstances over the next few decades will mean we cannot afford to be without a submarine capability. But that’s an area in which we are terribly vulnerable. Serious concerns have been raised over …
At this stage of Australia’s future submarine project, there is absolutely zero chance of the government adopting a Plan B. Realistically, I doubt that the government—or the opposition if by some alternate miracle they were …
If the Japanese government’s performance in dealing with the threat of the novel coronavirus Covid-19 is any indication, the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games are doomed to fail even before they begin. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe …
After the gains made by former US vice president Joe Biden in the Democratic primaries on Super Tuesday, Senator Bernie Sanders is slightly behind but still a frontrunner for the party’s nomination to face President …
Australia needs to seriously consider moving to a nuclear-powered submarine force because, in the rapidly changing circumstances of the region, it is the best solution to meet the Royal Australian Navy’s demanding strategic and operational …
Two questions are frequently raised about the process that selected Australia’s preferred partner for the design and build of the future submarine. The first is why the Defence Department didn’t pursue a ‘son of Collins’, …
‘Indo-Pacific’ has now become a catchphrase of the times, a reference point in discussing regional politics and security. It is not clear, however, that there’s widespread agreement in the region on its scope or its …
The Australian National Audit Office has just released its latest report on Australia’s $80 billion future submarine capability. It set itself the task of examining ‘the effectiveness of Defence’s administration of the Future Submarine Program …
Originally published 5 November 2019. We’ve known for a while that SEA 1000, the Defence Department’s future submarine program, is going to cost a lot of money—we just haven’t known exactly how much. But as …
In September, Japan and the EU launched the EU–Japan Partnership on Sustainable Connectivity and Quality Infrastructure, partly in response to escalating tensions between the United States and China over trade. This significant agreement builds on …