Uncertainty continues in the Middle East with no one in the Trump administration having a clue about what they are doing; the government of Israel is out of control – and Iranian hardliners are in charge of their country. It is possible that Donald Trump is losing interest because the world economy hasn’t yet collapsed. All the Australians who cheered on the US might wish to reflect on the consequences.
Then we look at some surveys showing that trust in the US as an ally has plummeted. The same pattern is true in Australia, but our politicians seem completely immune. Next, a major study of increased defence spending that shows Australia way down the list with no meaningful increase despite all the rhetoric from the government. Finally, some worrying information about the F-35 program – as if Australia is not already too dependent on US hardware.
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I am interested in what you think about the RN’s decision to scale replace the Type 45 capability with a future ‘common combat vessel’ program. This points to a layered maritime defence strategy with a much greater emphasis on unmanned capabilities. It also points to a huge pivot to security that is firmly focused on its own proximate maritime zones.
This is a marked change in defence capability planning. One wonders what the next surprise will be? The largest RN program without a committed timeline would be SSN AUKUS, but Australians have been reassured that AUKUS is very much on track.