![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Swedish_forces_in_Afghanistan.jpg\" "\\"Image")
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Sea State<\/strong><\/p>\n Last week\u2019s US Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) report, Iranian Naval Forces: A Tale of Two Navies<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> says Iran\u2019s developing<\/a> a new Besat-class submarine with anti-ship cruise missile capability. It\u2019s believed the development aims to better enable Iran to target the US Navy in the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>. Analysts caution however, that the Iranians tend to overstate their abilities and reports that they\u2019re already \u201cbuilding\u201d should be \u2018take[n] with a grain of salt\u2019<\/a>. ONI also reports Iran\u2019s likely to \u2018go on an international shopping spree<\/a>\u2019 for naval capabilities come 2020 when the UN\u2019s conventional weapons acquisition ban is due to expire.<\/p>\n US defence budget increases <\/a>in 2018 apparently won\u2019t extend to the Coast Guard, which is facing a US$1.3 billion cut<\/a>. Already reported to be under-resourced and overstretched<\/a>, the Coast Guard protects 95,000 miles of coastline with a force of just 56,000. Proposed cutbacks would eliminate the counterterrorism unit and all regional Maritime Safety and Security teams<\/a>\u2014some of which provide security for President Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago visits.<\/p>\n Flight Path <\/strong><\/p>\n There was no shortage of air capability news to emerge from last week\u2019s Avalon Air Show. US F-35 program head Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan predicted the F-35A could cost US$80 million <\/a>per unit by 2019\u20132020, a figure that\u2019s at the lower end of his earlier projection<\/a> that it\u2019d would cost between US$80\u201385 million by 2019. He attributes the price drop to accelerated production<\/a>, with 60 aircraft in 2015\u2019s LRIP-9, 134 in 2017\u2019s\u00a0LRIP-10 and a predicted 160 in each lot due from 2020 onwards.<\/p>\n On the back of the air show, Air Force Chief Air Marshal Leo Davies launched<\/a> the Air Force Strategy 2017\u20132027, which will guide RAAF towards becoming a fifth-generation force. The strategy contains five \u2018vectors\u2019<\/a>: joint warfighting capability, people capability, communications and information systems, infrastructure and international engagement.<\/p>\n As a freshly-converted airpower geek, allow me to treat you to this Avalon highlights reel<\/a>. See fly-bys from the F-35A (6.30) and F\/A-18F (14.40), but the F-22 Raptor really stole the show with its vertical ascents (15.40).<\/p>\n The US enjoyed its own Air Warfare Symposium<\/a> last week, but it was gate-crashing Chinese military officers<\/a> that really made headlines. First in uniform but then in plain clothes, the three officers snapped pictures of the US military\u2019s latest technology and apparently inquired into one company\u2019s communications programs, which US officials declined to disclose.<\/p>\n Rapid Fire<\/strong><\/p>\n In a historic vote, Sweden decided to reintroduce military conscription<\/a> by 1 July after struggling for years to meet enlistment requirements. The decision comes amid increasing military activity by Russian forces based in the Baltics<\/a>. Around the same time, General Sir Andrew Bradshaw, NATO\u2019s highest-ranking operational European Officer, stated<\/a> that the EU must work together with NATO to formulate a grand security strategy in Europe, warning that NATO alone can\u2019t deter Russia.<\/p>\n Following testing in Australia and Europe, the Australian Army is nearing a key stage<\/a> in the selection process for their new \u2018armoured combat reconnaissance vehicle\u2019. Phase 2 of the Army\u2019s LAND 400<\/a> project will see the final two contenders, the AMV-35<\/a> and Rheinmetall\u2019s Boxer<\/a>, \u2018put through their paces\u2019 by ADF troops. The process is part of Defence\u2019s \u2018risk-mitigation activity\u2019, a sort of \u201ctry before you buy\u201d exercise where the vehicles are tested to the point of destruction.<\/p>\n The Australian Army is also looking to introduce a new robotic target system<\/a> to sharpen soldiers\u2019 skill-sets. The system simulates live combat missions, teaching soldiers to shoot \u2018under the most realistic conditions possible\u2019. Developed by Australian company Marathon Targets<\/a>, the robotic system allows \u2018rapid development of precision marksmanship, enhanced combat skills and adaptive tactical thinking\u2019 and is currently used by the UAE Armed Forces, the US\u2019s Marine Corps and Air Force, Australian Special Forces and others.<\/p>\n Zero Gravity<\/strong><\/p>\n When SpaceX CEO Elon Musk signalled an announcement<\/a> last week, the rumour mill kicked into high gear. Speculation centred on forthcoming \u2018Iron Man<\/a>\u2019 spacesuits\u2014instead, the company detailed<\/a> plans to fly two fee-paying tourists around the Moon in 2018. The flight<\/a> would take about a week, and use the Dragon 2<\/a> spacecraft and Falcon Heavy<\/a> rocket. (If you\u2019re feeling jealous, remember that would-be space tourists will have to contend with \u2018non-stop vomiting, a puffy face and the constant need to pee<\/a>\u2019 as they slingshot around the Moon).<\/p>\n The natural question is asked on Space.com<\/em>: Could SpaceX Really Launch People Around the Moon Next Year?<\/a> It\u2019s a good one, because SpaceX hasn\u2019t launched a single crewed mission to date, and both launch and crew modules are as-yet untested. One analysis<\/a> found SpaceX has tended to miss publicly-stated deadlines by about 2.1 years.<\/p>\n With healthy doubt hanging over the exact timeline, it might be better to focus on the broader headlines. NASA stresses their productive partnership<\/a> with SpaceX, but there\u2019s talk of increasing frustration<\/a> with what\u2019s seen to be untethered ambition. That said, amid new murmurs of a public-private space race<\/a>, a \u201clunar gold rush<\/a>\u201d and Amazon-style delivery<\/a> to future lunar bases, it\u2019s private industry<\/a> that\u2019ll likely take us back to the Moon (and back).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sea State Last week\u2019s US Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) report, Iranian Naval Forces: A Tale of Two Navies, says Iran\u2019s developing a new Besat-class submarine with anti-ship cruise missile capability. It\u2019s believed the development …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":597,"featured_media":30807,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[170,247,726,670,1869],"class_list":["post-30806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-intelligence","tag-iran","tag-raaf","tag-robots","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n