Report on Columbia-class submarine
The following is the March 18, 2025 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Columbia (SSBN-826) Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress.
The...
Japan to test two UUVs
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has announced that it has acquired two types of underwater gliders : The SeaExplorer X2 and the Slocum...
Australia should revive merchant navy
By Victor Abramowicz*
Australia’s vulnerability to maritime trade disruption is well recognised. International shipping moves some 99 per cent of the nation’s traded goods by...
Navantia wins RAN design contract
Navantia Australia has announced it has won the Designer Support Contract with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Under the contract, Navantia will provide comprehensive...
Singapore Navy: big on size, small on personnel
By Dr Abdul Rahman Yaacob*
Singapore’s defence minister last week announced that two new submarines would be acquired from Germany in addition to the four...
More self-reliance and defence money
By Paul Dibb and Richard Brabin-Smith*
Two recent foreign challenges suggest that Australia needs urgently to increase its level of defence self-reliance and to ensure...
China’s massive commercial ship-building
In only two decades, China has grown to be the dominant player in shipbuilding, claiming more than half of the world’s commercial shipbuilding market,...
Chinese ships off the coast shows complacency
By Tom Lewis*
A Chinese naval flotilla cruising down the east coast of Australia sends two messages. One is “here we are and we’re here...
Rethink AUKUS, ex-Defence chief says
The United States has become an unreliable ally under Donald Trump’s presidency and the Albanese government should urgently develop a plan B for Australia’s...
N-subs: let’s move to Plan B
By Peter Briggs*
The Trump administration’s actions in abandoning long-term alliances with Europe, support for Nato and Ukraine is a wakeup call. The new reality...