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Analysis
Cyber war: Understanding the digital conflict between 2 Middle Eastern powers
The brief kinetic conflict between the two Middle Eastern powers may have turned into a simmering peace, but the digital front lines remain...
July 09 2025
After Tehran falls: How Iran’s crisis rewrites China’s Indo-Pacific strategy
Opinion: The 12-day war weakened Iran but strengthened China, deepening Beijing’s influence and exposing US limits – reshaping Indo-Pacific security dynamics for...
July 07 2025
Navy’s material trouble spells trouble for Australia’s security and AUKUS
Opinion: The Navy’s two largest ships have been plagued by a decade of mismanagement and critical failures, raising serious doubts about Defence’s ability to...
July 04 2025
Stretching AUKUS’ wings: The growing case for an AUKUS strike loyal wingman
The success of the B-2 raids on Iran has sharpened the case for a jointly developed AUKUS loyal wingman UCAV, giving allies a cost-effective, sovereign long-range strike...
July 02 2025
Richard Marles and Australia’s defence ‘quality’ problem
Opinion: Richard Marles’ claim that spending quality matters more than quantity in defence is a convenient excuse for underfunding and mismanaging Australia’s...
July 01 2025
Another hot-air balloon: NATO leaders move the imaginary goalposts again
North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders have been hailed around the democratic world for raising their defence GDP spend target to 5 per cent.
June 30 2025
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 back of them.
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
