Australia’s future submarine capability isn’t in a good place. We started the program at least five years too late due to a combination of indifference from successive governments and a lack of drive from the …
The many submariners dismayed over decades by claims that their Australian-built Collins-class boats are ‘dud subs’ may ultimately be vindicated by the appearance of a sophisticated, long-range ‘Son of Collins’. Swedish industrial giant Saab now …
Australia’s rapidly deteriorating strategic circumstances have caused me to review my earlier stance on the navy’s future submarine requirements and the case for nuclear propulsion. As Hugh White wrote in response to Paul Dibb and …
The transition from the Collins-class submarines to the future submarine fleet will be longer and more complex than any previous capability transition the Department of Defence has undertaken. Today ASPI released a special report, Thinking …
The key strategic issue in East Asia is the rise of Chinese power. Some analysts believe that China will seek a form of hegemony in East Asia that will lead to conflict. Unlike Europe, East …
The conversation about acquiring nuclear-powered submarines continues to bubble along. Some commentators who previously supported acquiring conventional submarines to replace the current Collins class, such as former prime minister Tony Abbott, now favour the nuclear …
On 20 September, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to win an overwhelming victory over long-time rival Shigeru Ishiba in his bid for a third three-year term as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic …
Something interesting happened at the Department of Defence’s Senate estimates hearing last week. Buried among the largely predictable and interminable questions about how much Defence pays eminent persons in advisory and advocacy positions were a …
Japan, like many countries, has strong strategic interests in the Pacific. But unlike many countries, Japan hosts a forum every three years with the leaders of the 14 Pacific Island countries (PICs), as well as ministerial …
Japan faces a choice. Will it decide on a hard or a comfortable future? Decisions—political, strategic and social—don’t come much bigger. What Japan’s leaders and people pick will say much about our times and the …
A couple of months ago Andrew Davies offered some comments on the pump-jet propulsion system that’s proposed as a key feature of the Shortfin Barracuda. As he observed, there seems a clear case for propellers …
This post is adapted from a presentation to the Australian Naval Institute’s 2017 Goldrick seminar. Let me start with something nice and uncontroversial. Submarines might be obsolete by the middle of the century. It’s possible …