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Defence

Yesterday

The Whiskey Project has won a US defence contract.

Ellerston-backed defence play charts course for the ASX; banks appointed

The Whiskey Project Group has appointed Morgans Financial and Canaccord Genuity as joint lead managers for the IPO.

This Month

Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan’s defense minister, center, speaks during a visit to Yonaguni, Japan, on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. Koizumi, visiting a military base close to Taiwan, said plans to deploy missiles to the post were on track as tensions smolder between Tokyo and Beijing over the East Asian island. Photographer: Alastair Gale/Bloomberg

Japan scrambles jets as China and Russia stage joint patrol

Tokyo has accused Beijing and Moscow of a deliberate show of force after military jets from both countries went on an eight-hour patrol near Okinawa.

Boeing’s Ghost Bat is among several military drone projects in Australia.

Dawn of drone warfare era: Government’s $1b ‘Ghost Bat’ purchase

The $1 billion investment will take the Ghost Bat out of prototype stage and see the government purchase six of the unmanned aircraft.

An image of the ships being tracked by Starboard Maritime Intelligence in the Philippine Sea. 

Chinese defence ministry breaks silence on naval flotilla

Beijing says its naval exercises do not target any country after reports that Australia is monitoring the movements of a PLA Navy task group.

Defence Minister Richard Marles in a Self-Defence Force MRPA vehicle in Tokyo on Sunday with Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi.

Australia, Japan strengthen defence ties amid China tensions

Canberra has reinforced its military relationship with Tokyo as both countries confront rising Beijing military pressure and warn regional security is being tested.

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Donald Trump wants allies like Australia to challenge China’s state-subsidised economic model that produces many more goods than it needs at home and sends them around the world.

Trump sees China more as an economic rival than a military threat

The US is more inward-looking, more disdainful of multiculturalism and no longer a defender of democratic values. But it still has its eye on China.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump aren’t fond of Europe.

Euro trashed: Musk adds to widening Trump rift with the EU

The billionaire’s tirade against Brussels came as the US president unveiled a security paper that allied the White House with far-right nationalist parties.

A Great Wall 236 submarine of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.

China massing military ships across region as tensions rise

Beijing’s reported deployment of some 100 vessels reflects a confident, increasingly global People’s Liberation Army, a defence expert said.

People’s Liberation Army-Navy Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang.

‘Years in the making’: Why Chinese warships will keep heading our way

Another Chinese flotilla is moving south, underlining that Beijing’s presence near Australia is no longer an anomaly, but a strategic warning Canberra can’t ignore.

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles in Singapore in June.

Pentagon flags ‘critical’ deadlines for AUKUS ahead of DC meeting

Richard Marles will meet his defence minister counterparts from the US and UK in Washington next week, as details from the review drop out.

Rescue workers at the site of a strike in Ternopil on November 19.

Australia announces $95m in cash and equipment for Ukraine

The package includes $50 million in cash for a weapons fund, $43 million worth of material such as munitions and radars and fresh sanctions on Russia.

6K Additive boss Frank Roberts, chief financial officer Jonathan Wolak and chairman David Seldin are in Australia to meet institutional investors.

Metal powders manufacturer 6K Additive upsizes IPO

The Pittsburgh-headquartered materials play is set to debut on the ASX with a $267 million market capitalisation.

Analysis by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has identified 17 sites with the strongest rationale for sale.

Prime Defence real estate would sell to developers for billions

Inner Melbourne and Sydney sites, including bases in Mosman and Paddington, could be converted into housing to raise billions for the defence budget.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy

Marles launches biggest Defence overhaul in five decades

To help prevent more multibillion-dollar cost blowouts, an independent agency to run major projects will be created by the government.

November

Brisbane’s Victoria Barracks and Spectacle Island in Sydney Harbour are among the little-used sites that the government wants to sell after an audit of defence property.

Defence poised to sell prime Brisbane and Sydney real estate

Brisbane’s Victoria Barracks and Spectacle Island on Sydney Harbour are among the sites the government wants to sell after an audit of defence property.

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Abigail Bradshaw has had a long career in the public service, rising up to run a key intelligence agency.

Millions paid to business run by spy chief’s husband under scrutiny

Contracts awarded to a company where the Australian Signals Directorate director-general’s spouse was a senior manager have been under external investigation.

Famed barrister Geoffrey Robertson is warning international laws against war crime are a “fraud”.

Geoffrey Robertson slams ‘great appeaser’ Trump

The famed Australian barrister’s new book on the failure of international law coincides with the “great appeaser” Donald Trump’s presidency.

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Chinese ships highlight our vulnerability to growing aggression

We have forgotten what it feels like to face the visceral prospect of attack. Countries that cannot resist coercion will struggle to defend their interests.

The Chinese frigate Hengyang off Australia’s coast in February.

Defence forces monitor Chinese flotilla

The vessels may be heading towards Australia, less than a year after a naval task group sparked alarm when it unexpectedly circumnavigated the country.

The market darling, the $50m share dump and the silent CEO

Jonathan Shapiro on the rise of DroneShield, why its CEO just dumped all his stock and whether the company can restore the faith.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/defence-5w8