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APDR Podcast Episode 159 with host Kym Bergmann

By Kym Bergmann

•Oct 27, 2026

The scale of the corrupt deal between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump is even greater than we thought with Europe coming under pressure to transfer $200 billion worth of frozen Russian assets to Washington, to be administered by we don’t know who. On a bright note it looks like Starlink / Starshield services have been fully restored, but the point remains that the US can – and will – pull the plug on customers and allies, no matter who they are. Ukraine continues to demonstrate that drones are the way of the future, and Russian casualties for September reached an all time high – 50,000 killed, wounded and missing. Ukraine is launching an average of 6,600 drone strikes per day – and that number will certainly increase as they build and buy even more of them. The Starlink debacle is evidence of the importance of military communications satellites – and Australia needs a network of our own. Recent information is that an offer from the government of South Korea to Australia to co-develop a military communications satellite system was completely ignored – something that in other times would have led to Ministers being fired. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Kym Bergmann at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Group Sales Director Simon Hadfield at [email protected]

TAGSAPDR podcastAustraliaKym BergmannStarlinkStarshieldUkraine
Kym Bergmann
Kym Bergmannhttps://asiapacificdefencereporter.com/

Kym Bergmann has more than 35 years of experience in journalism and Australian and international defence industry. After graduating with Honors from the Australian National University, he joined Capital 7 television, holding several positions including foreign news editor and chief political correspondent.

After 2 years on the staff of a Federal Minister, he moved to the defence sector and held senior positions in several companies, including Blohm+Voss, Thales, Celsius and Saab. In 1997 he was one of 2 Australians selected for the Thomson CSF 'Preparation for Senior Management' MBA course, the other being Chris Jenkins - formerly the CEO of Thales Australia.

He has also worked as a consultant for a number of companies, including Raytheon, Tenix (now part of BAES) and Martin Marrietta (now part of Lockheed Martin). He had several board appointments, including Thomson Sintra Pacific (1994 - 96) and Saab Pacific (1998 - 2003).

He retains good personal links with senior figures in Government, as well as in industry and the media. He decided to return to journalism in May 2008, and holds the position of editor for Asia Pacific Defence Reporter (APDR) and Defence Review Asia (DRA). He is also a podcaster and commentator on defence and national security issues.

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