Show Notes
What was going to be a philosophical podcast largely about uncrewed systems has been completely upended by a major change to AUKUS Pillar One. The plan from the get go has been for the US to sell us two second hand Virginia class SSNs, followed by a brand new one. But overnight that's been changed - and on the fringes of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Defence Minister Richard Marles announced that the new one has been dropped and we will now be sold three second hand boats.
The government has gone into spin overdrive, claiming that this is a massive triumph of planning - but it's not. If it is such a brilliant idea, why not have made this the aim from the first day? The government has repeatedly insisted that there is a plan and that plan is being adhered to, no matter what. Well, that plan has been dropped and now we have a new plan. In all probability the explanation is even simpler - the US has changed its mind and is no longer prepared to sell us new submarines because their own needs come first.
In the medium term, under the previous plan Australia would also buy an additional 2 new Virginias if the British designed SSN AUKUS runs late - as it almost certainly will. What has happened to that plan? Does it still exist - or will Australia now only be permitted to buy more used SSNs, taking the total to five? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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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.