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Defence

This Month

Defence minister Richard Marles meets with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and director general of the Japan Defence Agency, Gen Nakatani, on November 17.

Australia, US, Japan to strengthen military ties in face of China threat

Defence ministers agreed to a new “commitment to consult” over regional security issues and invited Japanese troops to train in Darwin.

  • Updated
  • Andrew Tillett
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has invested significant capital in ties with PNG and his counterpart James Marape.

Defence considers recruiting from PNG to see off China’s influence

In the jockeying for influence, the South Pacific’s largest nation has emerged as a key target given its proximity to Australia and rich natural resources.

  • Updated
  • Andrew Tillett
The world is more contested than in Trump’s first term.

Three challenges for Australia as the US turns inwards

America will accelerate global fragmentation as it becomes more isolationist, leaving its ally very exposed, says one of our most experienced public servants. 

  • Heather Smith
German shipbuilder TKMS’ Meko A-200 frigate is under consideration for the Australian navy’s general purpose frigate.

$10b warship decision months away despite China fears

The government has whittled down to two contenders for a lucrative navy project, but there are questions why a final decision won’t be made until mid-year.

  • Andrew Tillett
German shipbuilder TKMS’ Meko A-200 frigate is under consideration for the Australian navy’s general purpose frigate.

Navy’s $10b warship contest down to Germans, Japanese

The Albanese government will make a final decision next year on the winning designer for a contract to build 11 new light frigates for the navy.

  • Updated
  • Andrew Tillett
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Donald Trump at a rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

AUKUS problems go beyond Trump

While people fret about US ties under a Trump presidency, US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy has highlighted some issues go beyond personnel.

  • Andrew Tillett

October

HMAS Sydney fires Royal Australian Navy’s first Naval Strike Missile.

Missile ambitions are the key to our future defence

Australia’s defence strategy could survive a faltering of AUKUS submarines, but not the loss of the plan to build missiles at home.

  • Peter Dean and Alice Nason
Australia will build 4000 guided missiles a year capable of being fired by the HIMARS mobile artillery system.

Missile factory too late, too slow for China threat: experts

The factory will be established as the centrepiece of the government’s plans to build up a domestic stockpile of rockets and missiles.

  • Andrew Tillett
The RAAF Base Scherger, near Weipa on the Cape York Peninsula, is being upgraded.

The map that Canberra doesn’t want you to see

Australia’s military integration with the US proceeds apace, but is the Albanese government coming clean on the risks?

  • James Curran
Australia will begin testing hypersonic missiles that can travel at least five times the speed of sound within months.

‘Greatest arms race in our region’: Australia buys $7b of US missiles

The government will buy hundreds of specialised long-range missiles in a deal approved by the US Congress.

  • Updated
  • Matthew Cranston
The One Defence Data project will help the department consolidate its various data stores for easier access.

Big KPMG team departs Defence data project

More than 70 consultants from the firm have finished working on an ambitious project to better manage and share data held by the sprawling department.

  • Edmund Tadros and Andrew Tillett
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte greets Australia’s Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy in Brussels.

‘Ramped up’ defence industry deals on the cards with NATO

As Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy sat down at the top NATO table in Brussels, the talk turned to commercial deals that might ramp up output.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
Taso Arima founded IperionX, a metals technology company focused on creating a sustainable, low-cost, low-carbon titanium supply chain.

Titanium play IperionX taps Petra, Bells for $100m placement

IperionX, whose share price has run up 157.5 per cent over the past 12 months, was admitted to the ASX 300 ranks at S&P’s September rebalance.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
An Australian M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank from 2nd Cavalry Regiment during Exercise Brolga Sprint 24 at Townsville Field Training Area, Queensland, on 09 June 2024.

Australian tanks to help evict Russians from Ukraine

The Albanese government has made a U-turn on gifting the army’s old tanks to Ukraine after months of pleading.

  • Andrew Tillett
Defence Minister Richard Marles will outline plans for Perth’s shipyard as part of AUKUS.

Sunk cost: how the AUKUS bill keeps rising for taxpayers

The government is preparing to unveil plans for an expansion worth up to $20 billion for Perth’s shipyard - one of Canberra’s biggest ever infrastructure projects.

  • Updated
  • Andrew Tillett
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Amry truck in Ballina in 2022.

‘We should learn from history’: ex-general warns of climate wars

As chief of the Dutch armed forces, Tom Middendorp was castigated for suggesting climate change was a security threat. Now his views are mainstream.

  • Andrew Tillett
Aurizn’s technology is used by the Australian Department of Defence and AUKUS.

Pemba’s defence tech play Aurizn inks bolt-on; two more in the wings

The private-equity backed name is mulling its next phase of growth with a new chief executive and two bolt-ons waiting in the wings.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Testing of a Russian ballistic missile in 2022. Australian super funds are exposed to nuclear weapons.

AustralianSuper ESG option invested in nuclear weapons: report

Australia’s 14 biggest superannuation funds are investing about $3.4 billion in nuclear weapons despite many promising to avoid controversial arms.

  • Hannah Wootton

September

UK Defence Secretary John Healey, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, and Defence Minister Richard Marles meet in London.

‘Utterly untrue’: Keating berates Marles over AUKUS defence

Paul Keating launched fresh criticism of the $368 billion agreement, part of internal Labor squabbling over the pact, which has not gone unnoticed in the UK and US.

  • Updated
  • Hans van Leeuwen and Matthew Cranston
Pit-stop: a US nuclear-powered submarine docks at Rockingham, Western Australia in March this year.

New AUKUS pact to keep nuclear subs deal on track

Australia and the UK are thrashing out a formal treaty to allay concerns about getting the SSN-AUKUS submarines built on time and under budget.

  • Hans van Leeuwen and Matthew Cranston

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