Analysis - Defence Connect

Opinion: Despite near-identical challenges, Canada’s pursuit of a larger, conventional submarine fleet for speed and affordability provides an...

June 23 2026

Opinion: Assistant Minister for Defence, Peter Khalil, argues that Australia’s fleet of nuclear-powered submarines is more than just a vital investment in Australia’s...

June 22 2026

Australia cannot do everything in a Taiwan conflict – and shouldn’t try

Opinion: Australia should prioritise defending its northern approaches and sustaining coalition operations, arguing that its greatest value in a Taiwan contingency lies in...

June 20 2026

Turkey’s Grey Wolves problem is reaching Australia’s blind spot

Opinion: Australia is well prepared for traditional foreign interference but less equipped to counter transnational extremist movements operating through diaspora networks,...

June 19 2026

China, North Korea draw closer amid a weakening US

Opinion: China and North Korea are strengthening ties amid perceptions that the 2026 Iran war exposed the limits of US power, raising concerns about deterrence and regional...

June 18 2026

What to expect when you’re expecting ... war: Strategist provides insight into just what to expect if China strikes

Australians are largely divorced from the reality and costs of war. With few, if any, Australians alive today able to remember and even fewer remembering how it felt to be...

June 16 2026

Sustainment over symbolism: A first-principles fix for Australia’s Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities

Opinion: A first-principles framework for redesigning Australia’s Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities, separating sustainment from manufacture across three tiers and 14...

June 15 2026

Sovereignty, security and the AI chip question

Opinion: Western militaries face a growing challenge: maintaining access to US AI technology that underpins modern warfighting while building greater sovereign capability and...

June 13 2026

Stop building the Batmobile: Defence weaponry must be designed for factory floors

Anduril founder Palmer Luckey has urged Western governments to focus on deployable defence capability over creating exquisite and expensive individual systems.

June 12 2026

Falling on deaf ears? Australia needs to break addiction to ‘just-in time’ supply chains

COVID-19 laid bare Australia’s supply chain vulnerabilities. Conflicts in Europe and the Middle East have underscored them, but Australia remains addicted to just-in-time...

June 11 2026

Lessons from the British Isles powder keg? Migration, social cohesion, civil war, youth engagement and national security

Social media was awash with footage of an alleged beheading attempt by a Sudanese “asylum seeker” in Belfast, yet another stark warning of growing social tensions in...

June 10 2026

Are you really sure you want to go there? Greens defence spokesman argues for ‘regional defence’ over AUKUS

As debate continues about the future of the nation’s future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, Greens defence spokesman, NSW senator David Shoebridge, has called for...

June 09 2026

Part 2: The complex challenges of integrated deterrence, China and Taiwan

Opinion: Chinese strategic intentions in relation to the Indo-Pacific are best encapsulated in Xi Jinping’s concept of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

June 06 2026

Part 1: The complex challenges of integrated deterrence, China and Taiwan

Opinion: Since my early days of university, I have thought of US–China relations as the defining issue of our time.

June 06 2026

A national audit for a stronger Australia: Government’s role in restoring sovereign capability

Opinion: Defence logistics specialist Dave Grosvenor argues that a government-led national audit must be the starting point for a national action plan that must rebuild...

June 05 2026

The geopolitical implications of the return of nationalism in Europe

Opinion: Europe is experiencing a rise in nationalism driven by migration, economic pressures and ongoing conflicts. As far-right parties gain influence and anti-migrant...

June 04 2026

Sleepwalking towards disaster? Former home affairs secretary warns ‘war is coming’

Time and again, Australia’s policymakers and the public have been warned that time is running out, conflict is more likely than not, yet as a nation, we seem to be...

June 02 2026

Infrastructure is now strategy: Why the Pacific needs high-quality delivery and professional private-sector expertise

Opinion: The Quad’s Fiji port plan underscores infrastructure as strategy, with success hinging on credible, private-sector-led delivery rather than government-led ambition...

June 01 2026

Japan and Australia’s strategic imperative for deeper defence and dual-use industrial cooperation

Opinion: As we look forward to the Shangri-La Dialogue this coming weekend and expected announcements about deeper cooperation with Japan, trilateral initiatives with New...

May 30 2026

Cash? No cash here, says ASPI ‘Cost of Defence’ report

The new ASPI “Cost of Defence” report finds a record defence commitment riddled with funding shortfalls, backloaded spending and structural weaknesses that could leave...

May 29 2026