PODCAST: Getting our naval force structure right, with Jennifer Parker

Joint-capabilities
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By: Robyn Tongol

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Jennifer Parker, expert associate at the National Security College - Australian National University and a former Navy officer, to discuss the future of the Royal Australian Navy’s surface fleet.

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Jennifer Parker, expert associate at the National Security College - Australian National University and a former Navy officer, to discuss the future of the Royal Australian Navy’s surface fleet.

The pair discuss the recent debate about the utility of small missile boats in the Australian context and their applicability for the Royal Australian Navy.

The pair also discuss:

  • China's recent deployment of a surface action group, currently operating 150 nautical miles off the coast of Sydney, and the challenges the Royal Australian Navy currently faces in responding to these subtle provocations.
  • The growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific and increasing competition in our region, placing mounting pressure on the RAN to secure Australia’s critical sea lines of communication and maritime trade.
  • What options and avenues are open for the next Australian government to rapidly increase the Navy’s capability while avoiding the trap of “silver bullet” capabilities that may leave us with a lopsided force.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

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Listen to previous episodes of the Defence Connect podcast:

Episode 11: CONTESTED GROUND: Weak, vulnerable, backwater – Australia’s choice between strategic camps and managed decline
Episode 10: PODCAST: Undersea dominance – Australia charts the maritime future through autonomous systems and AUKUS innovation
Episode 9: PODCAST: Australian Army Cadets pathways, submarine industry growth and Australia’s fuel security
Episode 8: CONTESTED GROUND: The blind faith factor – why Australians trust an ADF they don’t understand
Episode 7: PODCAST: Defence preparedness, artificial intelligence productivity, and Australian industrial resilience
Episode 6: CONTESTED GROUND: Shots fired! Chinese missile test shatters Australia’s ‘fog of peace’, with Mike Pezzullo
Episode 5: SPOTLIGHT: Counter-drone innovation, directed energy and delivering operational outcomes, with EOS Defence Systems’ Lee Kormany
Episode 4: PODCAST: Strengthening security ties, Fiji defence pact and Australia’s counter-drone push
Episode 3: CONTESTED GROUND: Lessons from the UK in political polarisation, generational dislocation and intergenerational warfare, with Ben Dullroy, Bravo Delta Advisory
Episode 2: PODCAST: Defence Industry Development Strategy, Defence reform and Australians fighting in Ukraine