Access to the key commodities have long been reasons for competition and conflict. Spices, oil and now… semiconductor microchips. ⬇️
You may have heard of Nvidia, the Chips Act and that Taiwan is heavily involved in chip manufacturing. If not, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has a quick primer to
Just before Christmas the US Defense Department released the annual assessment of Chinese military power ⬇️
“In 2023, the PRC continued its efforts to form the PLA into an increasingly capable instrument of national power. Throughout the year, the PLA adopted more coercive actions in the
The West needs to be ready for modern war – masses of drones and a battlespace saturated with electronic warfare ⬇️
WIRED has an insightful article on the Invisible Russia-Ukraine Battlefield that we’ll post in the comments. This is a good read about the fight to attain and retain the innovation
Can sea drones influence the littoral the same way as they dominate the Black Sea? ⬇️
Just before Christmas Beaten Zone Venture Partners advisor Keirin Joyce, GAICD, CPEng snuck in an interesting op-ed published on Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s The Strategist site looking at the ADF’s
The Deputy Chief of Army is ready to engage in the contest of ideas ⬇️
Major General Chris Smith has published a special report with Australian Strategic Policy Institute that examines the Australian Army’s part to play in the focused force. He also considers the
“As a nation, we are in an undeclared state of emergency”⬇️
We’re a bit late to this insightful report from Palantir Technologies‘ Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar. Palantir Technologies is one of the leading Mil Tech challengers of the status quo
War rages in the Middle East & Ukraine – but the temperature is slowly rising around Taiwan ⬇️
Reuters is reporting that military exercises continue to push boundaries and increase size and scope. We’ll add a link to the full article in the comments: “Taiwan raised its alert
It is time for action and outcomes, not more ‘announceables’ and word salads
There is a lot of frustration in the Defence community right now. It is time for action and outcomes, not more ‘announceables’ and word salads. ⬇️ Reality Bites: Senate Estimates
Can you build a nation’s preparedness and resilience for conflict by ignoring it? ⬇️
“We live in uncertain times. Armed conflicts are currently being waged in our corner of the world. Terrorism, cyber attacks, and disinformation campaigns are being used to undermine and influence
Is the US–Australian Alliance ready to fight the next war? ⬇️
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has released a research project that examines whether our Alliance is future ready that we’ll post in the comments. ‘Alliance Future: Rewiring Australia and the
Are we falling foul to regency bias when it comes to preparing for the next war? ⬇️
The Lowy Institute ran a recent event with The Economist’s defence editor, Shashank Joshi and covered issues including the Ukraine war, the Middle East, China’s nuclear ambitions, tensions between China
“Trump hates free riders on US Military spending and US Military power.” ⬇️
The team over at Strategic Analysis Australia (SAA) have been doing some great work providing policy options and informing the public debate on Defence and National Security. In his latest
Trump 2.0 will ‘go live’ in a geopolitical context where war is raging
Australia spends ~2% of GDP on Defence. The USA spends 3.5%. That’s quite the favourable deal we’re getting via the US taxpayer ⬇️ The US people have spoken and last
Australia is incrementally increasing preparedness for the most dangerous geopolitical circumstances since WW2
Earlier this week we saw the release of the 2024 Australian Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordinance (GWEO) plan – we’ve included the link below. There are two major new munitions
Empty Bins in a Wartime Environment
It is an open secret that the West doesn’t have the munitions for the mission of deterrence. While some work is underway to fix the problem, much more needs to
Are we building the right things?
Venture capital investment in Defence tech has soared—$100 billion between 2021 and 2023—but the question remains: are we building the right things? Despite innovation in the sector, many companies, including
Our future war will involve small, smart and many players.
A feature of the future war will be the small, the smart and the many. ⬇️ These Kamikaze Drones Were Used In Iran’s First Direct Attack on Israel | WSJ
In the skies of the middle east we are seeing the opening salvos of war in an era of ubiquitous long range strike. ⬇️
Escalating to War between Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran There is a serious risk of all-out war between Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran. According to new CSIS analysis, both the scale and
Let’s Talk Missiles
We need to talk about missiles ⬇️ The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) ran a series of war games based on a major conflict between China and the
“An industrially developed nation cannot be disarmed”
A.E. Leighton was a different sort of public servant. After starting his career in 1903 in the Indian Department of Military Supply, he joined the Australian Arsenal and rose through