Show Notes
In a breaking story, there is very credible reporting that the UK has deferred placing an order for future attack submarines - SSN AUKUS - until 2028. This is directly contrary to what we are being told by our government, the RAN and Defence officials. We are in the process of donating $5 billion to the UK industrial base to build submarines that haven't even been ordered.
The situation in the US is no different with the Government Accounting Office - their equivalent of the ANAO - reporting on 27 August that the SSN maintenance and disposal system is a huge mess, years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. Just like the situation in the UK, we are being lied to. We are being told that US SSN maintenance is improving when in fact it is getting worse.
Speaking of getting worse - the situation in the Middle East risks spiralling completely out of control. The Houthis in Yemen now control the critical passage between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and are threatening Saudi shipping. After the US midterms in November - if they go ahead - President Trump will have a free hand and might decide to escalate the conflict, with unforeseeable consequences. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Asia Pacific Defence Reporter
Australian politicians and Defence planners - please note that the US betrayal of Ukraine is worsening. On top of an illegal decision to purchase Russian diesel fuel, other sanctions have been lifted and the absolutely vital Star Shield military grade internet service to Ukraine was curtailed. During that time, launches of Russian ballistic missiles went undetected, resulting in civilian deaths - and the outrage in the US has been so strong that Donald Trump and Elon Musk are now blaming each other.
We start with the latest ongoing US betrayal of Ukraine - and it's a shocker. Following a 90 minute phone call with his best friend Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump has announced that the US will now buy diesel fuel from Russia. This is a total breach of western sanctions and not only stabs Ukraine in the back but also undercuts support for Ukraine. The consequences could be profound and demonstrate again that the Trump administration will break any alliance agreements whenever it suits them.
We start with some words about delayed flights in Australia and how this is a metaphor for obscure Defence decision-making, especially on subjects like AUKUS. Nuclear-powered submarines are great for travelling long distances at high speed underwater but there has never been any analysis of how this benefits Australia - particularly for the gigantic amounts of money involved.
A lot has been happening on the international scene with Australia's PM Anthony Albanese at the United Nations in New York partly to lobby for one of the rotating seats on the Security Council. It's not clear how much support Australia will receive since we are in the process of converting ourselves into one giant US military base.
We begin with another Defence procurement farce. Two years ago Defence abandoned a project called JP 9102 for geostationary military communications satellites with Minister Richard Marles explaining that they were too vulnerable and of insufficient capability. In an extraordinary development, Defence has just issued a tender for a satellite very similar to the one they cancelled. The problem is that we have missed at least 3 years acquiring a vital capability - and Australian industry lost more than $300 million because of the ineptitude of Defence.