by Craig Hooper on April 10, 2011
Over the course of my naval blogging, nothing has worried me more than the Pacific. I worry that American policymakers have taken their eyes off the ball, distracted by impulsive, poorly justified national security choices (i.e. Iraq and Libya). As resources dwindle, the margin for error and or ability to absorb/compensate/fix strategic mistakes dwindle too. […]
by Craig Hooper on April 9, 2011
Sometimes a deal is just so good, you’ve just gotta take it. Australia’s announcement that it will buy the the UK’s soon-to-be-redundant LHD Largs Bay for $100 million Australian dollars (@$105 USD at present rates) must have government minsters in a gleeful state. Even if the Largs Bay has serious problems, at this price, it’s […]
by Craig Hooper on February 7, 2011
It is no secret the Australian Navy is super-sizing their amphibious force. But…is that force going to be too big and unwieldy to do a good job of projecting security throughout the South Pacific? The first step towards a super-sized amphibious force is interesting. Last month, after I urged the Australian Navy to retire their […]
by Craig Hooper on January 14, 2011
Australia has three creaky old amphibious vessels, the HMAS Tobruk, HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora. They are scheduled to retire over the next 8 years to be replaced in 2014-15 by the Canberra Class LHDs. Australia’s legacy amphibs are, at this point, feeble, unreliable platforms. They’ve done yeoman service, but, in September, the Kanimbla an […]