Dec 3, 2020
2020 has been a big year for the nation,
Defence and defence industry, with major projects reaching critical
stages in the design, build and delivery phase transforming the
Royal Australian Navy well into the next decade.
In this episode of the Defence Connect podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant
and Steve Kuper discuss the year that was for the Royal Australian
Navy as it continues to embark on a generational transformation of
its platforms and capabilities and the
role Australia’s growing defence industry is
playing in this transformation.
As part of an ongoing series of the Defence Connect podcast leading
up to the end of the year, the pair discuss the top ranking stories
in the Maritime & Undersea Warfare domains according to engagement
by the Defence Connect audience – this includes
a focus on programs like the Royal Australian Navy’s SEA
1180 Arafura Class offshore patrol vessels and
concerns around ‘upgunning’ the vessels.
Building on this, the pair discuss the recent arrival of
the Navy’s next-generation fleet replenishment
ship NUSHIP Supply and the key capabilities it
will deliver to the Royal Australian Navy and allies as they
operate in the Indo-Pacific.
Tarrant and Kuper also discuss content covering the rising power of
the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and its ongoing
transformation as a carrier power, as well
as the ongoing French Navy program to replace
and supplement the force’s aircraft carrier, the
FNS Charles de Gaulle, with a design similar to
the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft
carrier.
Finally, the hosts discuss US Marine Corps Commandant General
David Berger’s push to field a growing number
of ‘Lightning Carriers’ to support distributed operations
with a growing number of F-35Bs to complicate adversary
decision making processes, the successful participation of
Australian frigate HMAS Ballarat in the
US Navy’s Nimitz carrier strike
group, and US Navy Chief of Naval Operations Admiral
Mike Gilday’s push to develop the US Navy’s
next-generation destroyers.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team