US SSN(X) decision reveals a more optimal SSN pathway for Australia

by Marcus Hellyer | Mar 22, 2024 | AUKUS, Defence Budget, Indo Pacific, Strategy & Capability

There’s been a lot of focus on nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) in Australia in the last week or so. First there was the firestorm in response to the United States Navy reducing its planned procurement of Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs)...

Grumpy Strategists – The Makers’ Series Episode 1

by Michael Shoebridge and Tom Loveard | Feb 29, 2024 | Podcasts, Strategy & Capability

Grumpy Strategists – The Makers’ Series Episode 1 | RSS.com This new Grumpy Strategists series talks with makers & leaders in Australian industry who are key to our security. Tom Loveard, Chief Technology Officer and one of the founders of C2 Robotics...

Getting a clear view of the cloudy budget for Australia’s nuclear submarine program

by Marcus Hellyer | Feb 13, 2024 | AUKUS, Defence Budget

This brief has been updated since Senate estimates hearings on the Defence portfolio on 14 February 2024 to incorporate discussion at that forum. What do we know about the budget for Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) program? Much commentary has focused on...

Megaprojects: Taking Flyvberg’s ‘outside view’ on Australia’s nuclear submarine program

by Marcus Hellyer | Feb 9, 2024 | AUKUS, Strategy & Capability

Will Australia’s AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) program deliver as promised? The unavoidable answer is no. That’s because megaprojects virtually never deliver. That’s the finding of the person who has probably studied more megaprojects than anybody else:...

Will Trump sink AUKUS if he wins?

by Peter Jennings | Jan 30, 2024 | AUKUS, Strategy & Capability

A second Trump presidency is not a certainty, but a forward-thinking Australian government would start planning for that possibility. Much more is at stake than bonhomie about alliance relations. If Trump trashes the AUKUS partnership on the false grounds that it...