In this episode we have a bit more to say about the ridiculous levels of secrecy surrounding military projects in this country. In comparison, the US tries to be helpful, as evidenced by a couple of recent visits, including by Lieutenant General Steven Sklenka from the Marine Corps. Also a look at the recently passed Securing Australia’s Military Secrets (SAMS) legislation, which is obviously written by lawyers who don’t know what they are doing. No wonder so few people want to join the...

Last week saw the release of the Federal Budget, the Defence component of which has not received a lot of media attention, probably because the Integrated Investment Plan was released a fortnight earlier. But there were some gems, such as the data that the spend for acquiring nuclear-powered submarines will total $13.6 billion over the next four years. That’s before a single submarine is delivered. It is likely to include a gift of about $8 billion to US and UK industries. There’s also the...

We start with a retrospective chat about the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the USSR and the corrosive effects of secrecy and cover ups.  Australia is thankfully not like the Soviet Union – far from it – but the government management of information about Defence and national security is becoming increasingly paranoid, self-destructive and harmful.  It is now routine for all media requests to be totally ignored by the Department and for Ministers to propagate an entirely false picture of...

An industry source has described the General Purpose Frigate project as a “goat rodeo”, but before we get to that a few words about the cancellation of SEA 1905. This was the latest RAN effort to improve mine warfare capabilities – and after 5 years of effort on the part of three bidders has been abruptly cancelled. No reason has been given but it looks to be because Australia will soon transfer $4.7 billion to profitable US submarine construction companies. However, mine warfare is a vital...

First some good news – an extra $100 million of military aid for Ukraine. It’s not enough and Australia could be doing a lot more, but at least it’s a move in the right direction. Next – the unfolding disaster of the General Purpose Frigate project. Some acquisitions are doomed from the very beginning and this is one of them. Firstly, the highly paid independent reviewers of the RAN future surface fleet couldn’t even get it right about how many designs from Korea are available. Secondly, the...

The National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Plan have been released, but in the short term this does nothing for Australia’s military capabilities – the serious funding increase is later in the decade. It also ignores the effect of inflation. The accompanying speech of Defence Minister Richard Marles at the National Press Club revealed a hilarious level of stupidity within the Defence establishment. The apparent logic of reducing the number of planned Infantry Fighting Vehicles...

First we noticed a small piece of good news that a Wollongong-based steel manufacturer has landed a contract with a US submarine builder, but it’s likely to be very small. Which prompts the question: where is the $30 billion going that Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy says will be spent in Australia for AUKUS Pillar 1 – and it doesn’t take much to figure out that at least the first $10 billion is going on digging ditches and filling them with concrete. Not a lot of value adding there. The...

This episode is recorded in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. It’s a good opportunity to talk submarines and surface ships because of what is happening here. The occasion was an invitation to attend a signing ceremony for the contractual handover of the ROKS Shin Chae-ho an SSK of about the same displacement as the Collins class. However, this submarine is far more modern, with a Vertical Launch System and Air independent Propulsion, meaning it can stay fully submerged and completely silent...

This episode focuses entirely on AUKUS, which is totally dominating the national security debate at the moment – and that’s not necessarily a good thing with everything else being ignored. First we had the news from the US that they will only build a single Virginia class submarine in 2025, which looks like a deceleration in their effort to reach a rate of 2.33 per year needed to have excess platforms to then sell to Australia. But for our government, it’s business as usual with the line that...

We start with an unusual news item from Qatar: that country operates the NH90/Taipan family of helicopters – and they have an availability rate of 80%! But our Army – and the government – have been telling everyone that the main problem with Taipans was their lack of availability. Could it be that someone hasn’t been telling the truth? Also, we noticed an abandoned ex-Australian Special Forces vehicle in Ukraine and we wonder why some of these have been donated rather than being dismantled...

We start with the revelation that it’s not the Department or Ministers to blame for the lack of information about Defence going to Australian industry and the media – it’s our own security services! I know because Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy says so. Speaking of security services and the annual assessment provided by ASIO head Mike Burgess – what a circus. The claim that an Australian politician was a traitor has sent shock waves throughout the country. Why was the person not...

Just back from the Singapore air show, we have a few thoughts about the structure of defence industries – but the main topic is the government’s response to the review of the RAN surface fleet. There are some worthwhile developments, but how long will all of this take? What we are witnessing is 20 years of very poor planning because the Hobart class should have been in continuous production in 3-ship batches with new technology insertion. Luerssen have been shafted because they simply...

By popular demand, it’s time for more dirt on Taipan helicopters, but before that there’s some breaking news about AUKUS. In the US, supplemental funding that was going to help lift the rate of submarine production has fallen foul of Trump-worshipping Republicans in Congress. The omnibus legislation was mainly about securing the southern border but also contained military aid for Ukraine and Israel – plus about another $3.3 billion for submarine stuff. So while Australia remains on the hook...

Firstly, let’s have a look at the delayed F-35 program – an issue that has received very little coverage in Australia. The government promised that all 72 jets would be in country by the end of 2023. Well they aren’t, and no one is sure when the final nine will be delivered. Defence isn’t saying anything and the only comment from the government is it makes no difference whatsoever – in which case why not sell the last nine and stick with the 63 that we have? Also some snarky comments about...

In this episode we do some more digging into the extraordinary story of the destruction of the Taipan helicopter fleet when Ukraine desperately needs them. Why is the government so completely tone deaf? What do they hope to gain by turning down the request from Kyiv? Also visual evidence shows that many of them remain in good condition despite the government’s hints to the contrary. Defence’s own portfolio budget statements (PBS) for the current financial year say that a facility exists at...

In this episode we have more detail on the scrapping of Taipan helicopters – noting that Ministers Marles and Conroy appear to have gone into witness protection – showing that they were not nearly as expensive to keep as Army has been complaining. I hoped to question the Prime Minister asking if Germany can donate six very old Sea Kings to Ukraine, why on earth can we not send 45 modern very capable Taipans to a country fighting for its survival? What sort of government do we have? The...

Some very disturbing new information has come to light regarding the fiasco of retiring and burying the Taipan helicopter fleet. Senator David Fawcett (Lib / SA) has confirmed to me that he briefed the government in mid-October that Ukraine was interested in acquiring them. He was in a NATO meeting October 7-12 and met a number of Ukrainian military figures who stated their interest in Taipan, especially for MEDEVAC. It is unconscionable that the government then went ahead with the secret...

In this episode we continue with the sorry tale of burying Taipan helicopters rather than donating them to Ukraine. This really is a disgrace and has the potential to cost Defence Minister Richard Marles his job because new information is that the Government was made aware in November of Ukraine’s interest, a full month earlier than previously reported. Mind you, that depends on the Opposition doing their job – namely, holding the Government to account. Ukraine wants to use the Taipans for...

Happy New Year! While Australia was enjoying a peaceful Christmas, Ukraine was not – so why is our Army in the process of destroying 45 perfectly good Taipan helicopters rather than donating them? Ukraine made the request in mid-December and it looks like the government is pretending it hasn’t happened. It seems extraordinary that highly capable military helicopters worth $900 million – that the ADF has declared it no longer wants – are being disassembled as a prelude to being buried in...

Legislation has now passed the US Congress putting in place a framework for AUKUS Pillar One. Does this mean that Australia will be acquiring second hand Virginia class submarines? No, it does not. In fact some of the wording is so vague that a future US President could cancel the deal on a personal whim. Secondly, the industrial mobilisation problems are vast – and thirdly if anyone says AUKUS is safe from political changes because of bipartisan support in the US then they must be on...

Just for a change, we start with some positive developments, including a bilateral security treaty with PNG. Another positive item is a contract with Bisalloy to start qualifying steel for Australian built nuclear powered submarines. That looks to be 15 years earlier than necessary and might have more to do with US reporting requirements rather than Australian needs. Speaking of which, one of the main AUKUS boosters in Congress is Joe Courtney. He seems like a very nice reasonable person –...

It’s been a busy week in Canberra for the media – first, we had a National Press Club address by Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy. This was followed by businessman Robert Nioa launching a report titled: “ Developing Australia’s Defence Industrial Base” which details eight recommendations to the Department of Defence and the Australian Government about how to grow sovereign capabilities. The chances of it being accepted are not good because the Government – and Defence – believe they are...

Continuing extraordinary revelations from the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit into the Hunter class frigate program. Secretary of the Department of Defence, Greg Moriarty, accepts that the selected design was immature – and that he was misled by his own people about details of the evaluation. Next let’s visualise what $1 billion looks like when stacked in $100 notes – it’s about an 18 cubic metre block. Now imagine multiples of that being soaked with petrol and set on...

Just for a change we start with a preview of a positive article in the next edition of APDR, a chat with Glenn Keyes the co-founder of Aspen Medical. Then an extraordinary development in better understanding the selection of the Type 26 frigate for the Hunter class program – a Defence review that is scathing of the Department’s own processes. This has been submitted to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit which, in turn, has been investigating an ANAO report into the 2018...

We finally had the chance to ask Defence Minister Richard Marles some questions about the proposed purchase of second-hand Virginia class submarines. The answers are not very encouraging – details are still being worked through and apparently everyone is enthusiastic. Meanwhile we learn much more from open sources in the US, such as the importance to them of the costly and risky disposal of those submarines in Australia, by Australians. There is no logic to this and no rationale has been...