Page 104 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec-Jan 2023

104 FUTURE ACQUISITIONS
DECEMBER 2022-JANUARY 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
AN EYE TO THE FUTURE
The good news is that the Albanese government has pledged to maintain defence spending at “at least” two per cent of GDP, but what is Defence actually going to spend its budget on?
NIGEL PITTAWAY | MELBOURNE
WHILE there are several major acquisition programs already funded and underway, as ADM Senior Correspondent Ju- lian Kerr details in his review on page 98 of this issue, the crystal ball is somewhat cloudier when it comes to the future.
DEFENCE STRATEGIC REVIEW
One of the first things the Labor government did upon gaining power in June was to commission a Defence Stra- tegic Review – this coming just over two years after the Morrison government’s 2020 Defence Strategic Update (DSU2020) and Force Structure Plan (FSP2020), and sev- en years after the 2016 Defence White Paper.
“In 2020, the Defence Strategic Update identified that changes in Australia’s strategic environment are accelerat- ing more rapidly than predicted in the 2012 Force Posture Review. As our national security landscape changes, it is vital that our defence force remains positioned to meet our global and regional security challenges,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said when launching the new review.
To meet these challenges the review will, “examine force structure, force posture and preparedness, and investment
prioritisation, to ensure Defence has the right capabilities to meet our growing strategic needs.”
To carry out this task, the government appointed the for- mer Chief of Defence Force Sir Angus Houston and former Defence Minister Stephen Smith. An interim report has reportedly been presented to government and we are now awaiting the final report being made public.
On the one hand, this latest review is welcomed, as the strategic threats to Australia rapidly evolve and traditional defence planning has proven too ponderous to keep pace. But on the other hand, several major projects that were un- derway, but prior to Gate 2 approval, will have effectively been in limbo for the best part of a year by the time the review is released in the March 2023 timeframe.
While this is of great inconvenience to the industry primes – they each have to keep their bid teams together
ABOVE: Hanwha Defense Australia AS21 Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle, Army M113 AS4, and Rheinmetall Defence Australia Lynx KF41 Infantry Fighting Vehicle at Russell Offices, Canberra