“This appears to be a breakthrough moment, placing China more explicitly and centrally in the rationale for an unprecedented military expansion of post-war Japan,” said John Blaxland, professor at Australian National University’s Strategic and Defense Studies Center.
By Colin ClarkEnterprise-wide training: the Army’s $3.5B program for multi-service combat readiness
The competition for Warfighter Training and Readiness Solutions will bring together training networks, combat training centers and live ranges across the DoD enterprise.
“Considering Japan’s enormous economy and unambiguous [fighter] requirement because of its proximity to China and all that that implies, the [GCAP] agreement is one of the only practical ways – given the status of UK, German and French relations – to get toward more viable levels of funding,” said Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute.
By Tim Martin
“Overall,” Charles Edel of CSIS said, “I think this was a fairly robust AUSMIN that underscored just how important the America-Australian alliance has become to both countries — and highlighted how much more work they both need to do.”
By Colin Clark
Kim Beazley is best known for leading the Labor Party from 1996-2001, but also served as Minister of Defence from 1984-1990 and ambassador to the United States from 2009-2016.
By Colin Clark
“Two new aspects in the revised declaration are intelligence sharing, and greater interoperability. The latter is already underway, so the question is what is actually new here? More detail is required,” Japan analyst Rikki Kirsten said.
By Colin Clark
“The level of distrust is the highest it has been in 50 years,” said Bonnie Glaser, China expert at the German Marshall Fund. “Both sides have an enormous stake in stopping the downward spiral, and perhaps this will be a wakeup call that they need to do so.”
By Colin Clark
GA-ASI’s MQ-9B: The right UAV for persistence, power, and performance
When assessing the state of the art of unmanned aerial systems, it’s critical to be very clear about what various aircraft can and can’t do – and could never do.
The Jaguar effort will feature the development of universal frequency sensor technology for the FCAS effort.
By Andrew White
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was “shocked and saddened” by the “tragic” death. “Mr Abe was a giant on the world state – a leader in the G7, the G20 and the United Nations,” Albanese said. “His legacy was one of global impact and a profound and positive one for Australia.”
By Colin Clark
“It can be difficult to make these systems work in practice. I expect that it will take quite a bit of money, time and focus to get a system like this actually operating,” said David Brewster, a senior fellow at Australian National University’s National Security College.
By Colin Clark
“It’s a big acknowledgement that [Low Earth Orbit] is expanding rapidly. It’s of national importance. It’s of commercial importance. And there’s a need to have more eyes on the sky,” CEO Dan Ceperley told Breaking Defense in an interview.
By Theresa Hitchens
“What this document says is, we have to anticipate this (Ukraine) emergency. Don’t wait till it’s upon us,” said Rikki Kersten, honorary professor at the Australian National University.
By Colin Clark
Japan’s ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, made pretty clear that China was a driving force behind the treaty’s approval, noting the two nations must “increase deterrence.”
By Colin Clark
The agreement was announced just a day after a North Korean missile test and months after the eye-opening Chinese test of a fractional orbital bombardment system.
By Valerie Insinna
The Air Force’s change in Japan could usher in a new strategic stance, says RAND’s David Ochmanek.
By David Ochmanek