iscover
Analysis
Weapons of mass destruction: Condemned in policy, backed by super
Nuclear weapons, the ultimate symbols of destruction, are bad, unless, of course, you’re a super fund quietly growing its portfolio off the...
June 27 2025
Rethinking the north: From strategic frontier to integrated defence ecosystem
Opinion: Despite its strategic importance, northern Australia remains poorly integrated into national defence planning, requiring a networked, whole-of-nation approach to...
June 27 2025
So hot right now: Australia’s sovereignty and the debate around why it is in vogue
Australia’s sovereignty, while often politicised as an all-or-nothing concept, is best understood as the nation’s democratic ability to make autonomous strategic...
June 26 2025
A new reality – the 9/11 impact of the Ukrainian drone attack against Russia
Opinion: The 1 June 2025 FPV drone attack on a Russian airbase – mirroring the strategic shock of 9/11 – should prompt an urgent overhaul of global military...
June 25 2025
After action report: Assessing some of the key takeaways of Trump’s Iran strike
In many ways, the decisive step taken by US President Donald Trump to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities has put many critics to bed, and in others, it has raised other...
June 24 2025
Compare the pair: Australia’s 1987 force v the DSR force
As the global geopolitical and strategic environment continues to devolve, becoming increasingly unpredictable and dangerous, maybe it is time to thoroughly compare where we...
June 23 2025
Might makes right? War crimes, the ADF, and the challenge of responsibility
Is it finally time for a royal commission into the conduct of Australian special forces during operations in Afghanistan? One expert says yes, but understanding the nature of...
June 20 2025
Australia’s Defence spending has shades of Oliver Twist
Opinion: Lieutenant Colonel (Ret’d) Philip Pyke OAM warns that amid rising threats, the Albanese government’s defence underinvestment leaves Australia vulnerable,...
June 19 2025
Cancelled Trump meeting a relief to PM Albanese, but bad news for Australian security
Opinion: Donald Trump’s cancelled meeting has spared Anthony Albanese a politically awkward encounter, but cost Australia a key chance to advance AUKUS, strengthen US...
June 18 2025
Beijing emboldened as latest Taiwan war games highlight ‘systemic weaknesses’
Beijing’s latest round of war games has, it believes, “highlighted” major “systemic weaknesses” it believes will make the United States less...
June 17 2025
Strategic policy expert calls on Australia to ‘be very realistic’ in confronting regional, global challenges
As a middle power whose relative power is declining, being overshadowed by the ascendency of emerging regional and global powers, Australia is being warned to take a more...
June 16 2025
Putting Australia first in the AUKUS review
Opinion: As the US reconsiders AUKUS through an America First lens, Australia should also reassess whether the deal truly strengthens our defence – or if faster, more...
June 13 2025
What do we need? PM reinforces platforms defend the nation, not arbitrary figures, so why have we gone backwards?
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has responded to growing questions about the nation’s defence spending, reinforcing his belief that platforms and capabilities defend...
June 12 2025
How to break a nation – without firing a shot
As the old saying goes, “there is more than one way to skin a cat” and breaking a nation like Australia, while difficult, isn’t impossible and doing it...
June 11 2025
Deterrence and the 2024 National Defence Strategy – what else is missing?
Opinion: The 2024 National Defence Strategy marks a significant shift in aligning Australia’s defence posture with a more contested strategic environment, centred on a...
June 10 2025
Facing a perfect storm: Australia remains all at sea amid mounting geopolitical, economic pressures
The world we once knew is now well and truly a thing of the past and Australia has been slow in responding to the myriad of economic, political, security and social...
June 09 2025
Machine war: How AI and other technologies are shaping the fighting in Gaza
Artificial intelligence and facial recognition technologies are an essential part of the IDF’s targeting doctrine – here’s how it works, where it might...
June 06 2025
Divesting from Defence: Australia’s zero risk policy is killing domestic innovation
Queensland’s AEP Engineering owner, Mick McMillan, is a very public face for many small-to-medium defence suppliers across Australia.
June 05 2025
It’s all in the strategy: Expert warns as debate about defence spending heats up
As debate over Australia’s defence spending intensifies, a glimmer of clarity emerged: strategic policy expert Sam Roggeveen has challenged the alignment between our...
June 04 2025
Budgeting for an enhanced ready force
Opinion: If the strategic environment is driving an enhanced need to bulk up the capabilities of the ready force, where will the money come from to do so? And just as...
June 03 2025
