DCNS Shortfin Barracuda Block 1A. DCNS Photo
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — France’s DCNS has won Australia’s keenly-watched, $38.5 billion Project SEA 1000 Future Submarine program to replace six Collins-class submarines currently in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Read More
U.S. sailors man the rails aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) sails the Sydney Opera House while pulling into Sydney, Australia in 2005. US Navy Photo
Australia’s 2016 Defense White Paper expresses concern over “friction” in the South China Sea (SCS) arising from U.S.-Chinese naval interactions, and it worries that territorial disputes have created “uncertainty and tension.” Those statements, which show Canberra (like the rest of the states in the Indo-Pacific region) is slowly coming around to the gathering threat posed by China to freedom of the seas. Read More
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Darwin (FFG-04) in 2013.
Australia has placed significant emphasis on enhancing its maritime capabilities in its long-delayed 2016 Defence White Paper amidst an overall surge in the country’s defense spending, while warning that China’s policies and actions will have a major impact on the stability of the Indo-Pacific in the coming decades. Read More
The following is the 2016 Australia Defense White paper and a new 10 year defense investment outlook. Read More
Collins-class attack boats HMAS Dechaineux leads HMAS Waller and HMAS Sheean in formation in Cockburn Sound, near Rockingham Western Australia in 2013. RAN Photo
New submarines, frigates and offshore patrol vessels will be at the top of Australia’s list to modernize its military capabilities, its former defense minister told the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday. Read More
A naval soldier of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) views through a pair of binoculars onboard China’s first aircraft carrier Liaoning as it visits a military harbour on the South China Sea. Xinhua Photo
The coral reefs on which China is building airstrips are “not just a bunch of rocks, ”but the transit point for about half of the world’s maritime containerized cargo,” Michael Green, vice president for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Monday. Read More
An artist’s conception of the Hobart-class guided missile destroyer
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — The consortium building three air warfare destroyers (AWDs) for the Royal Australian Navy has provided an update on the construction of the ships, as well as an overview on the lessons learned from the delays and cost overruns that have plagued the program. Read More
Australian Lockheed Martin MH-60R helicopters. Commonwealth of Australia – Department of Defence
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has hailed the integration of the Lockheed-Martin/Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk into the service’s Fleet Air Arm as the multirole naval helicopter achieves initial operating capability there. Read More
Undated photo of Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force submarine Soryu (SS-501)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Japan’s submarine bid team has outlined the details of its proposal for Australia’s SEA1000 Future Submarine program to replace the Royal Australian Navy’s existing Collins-class boats. Read More
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PEARL HARBOR (Sept. 3, 2015) Adm. Scott Swift, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet on Sept. 3, 2015. US Navy Photo
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Senior U.S. and Australian defense officials have again spoken out against unilateral actions to bolster territorial claims to disputed islands in the South China Sea. Read More
