Details have come in about the latest US military aid package for Ukraine and it looks to be a disappointment. President Donald Trump has given Russia 50 days to start peace negotiations but that coincides with the start of the Autumn rains when ground campaigning grinds – or bogs – to a halt.
Also for the weapons part of the equation – nothing is being given to Ukraine, all of the systems are being sold at normal commercial rates to NATO allies, who will in turn transfer them. In the last few days both PM Anthony Albanese and Richard Marles have said that for Australia what counts is not what we are spending on Defence but rather the capability being acquired. This is exactly the point – the ADF is going backwards. Sacking a few senior military and civilian figures, which is in the pipeline, won’t help. Let’s do something useful such as acquiring South Korea’s equivalent of Patriot – the KM-SAM – and building it in Australia. That would make an important practical difference, but for it to happen needs a major change of mindset within Defence.
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Thanks for another interesting Podcast Kim, Firstly let me say I don’t believe a 30% cut in Senior ranks is necessarily a bad thing , as long as it’s the dead wood that’s cut and not an exercise in silencing dissent. Secondly let me say I’m getting sick and tired of people thinking that Nuclear Submarines are going to be the saviour of Australia’s Defence. The only advantage a Nuclear boat has over a Diesel Electric boat is it doesn’t need to refuel, so can stay on station longer at distances further from base . So unless the RAN is planning on conducting covert operations in the South China Sea (good luck with that) or attacking China, Diesel Electric boat is all we need.
I agree with your assessment – by the 2030s the South China Sea will be a complete no go area.