By Marcus Hellyer*
There will be much celebration of the Royal Australian Navy’s achievements at this week’s Indo-Pacific Sea Power Conference and maritime exposition. They are significant. Five years of Indo-Pacific Endeavour activities have demonstrated the navy’s ability to generate a robust taskforce and sustain it on extended deployments, and the upgrades to the Anzac-class frigates have provided a welcome boost to their capability.
But there are very dark clouds on the capability horizon. We are facing the strategic risk of both of the navy’s core combat fleets ageing out before replacements arrive.
