Australia - you're standing in it
Condolences mate.
Heavy.....
Thanks @a-mac.
Another good reminder to check in on your mates whenever you can. You don’t always know what they’re going through.
I just read the Finals Day wrap up. After I wrote that comment above.
Steve’s comment about Tyler and her experiences hit me right in the guts. So real.
Check in on your mates.
velocityjohnno wrote:Haven't had time to catch up with thread (Pipe) but I'll drop this here
All the answers are contained within
VJ, I get the strategic points. But don’t you think there is a risk that that the sub tech can become outdated?
Ukraine has made a mess of the Russian Black Sea fleet with drones despite limited air cover. Underwater drone technology will also advance and in a few years it may not be too difficult to take out nuke subs after AUS has put all its eggs in the one nuclear basket?
Distracted, good questions. I don’t have the answers, but a couple of points:
Drone technology is being planned to augment crewed ships / subs, as well as to attack them. From what I understand it might look like a screen of protective underwater drones around the mothership. Also used to scout ahead, or undertake shallow water tasks. There will be a cycle of action and counter action in the development which will favour either side of the equation at different points along the journey.
The second point is that China isn’t seeing the trend toward subs being obsolete. They’re building plenty, and their future is nuclear to gradually replace their existing fleet of 65 subs. 65. For a country that has a smaller coastline than NZ.
The third point is a little more abstract. If this was such a strategic blunder by Australia, a deep investment in technology that will be superseded, a decision that detracts from Australia’s defence, why is the PRC going so hard against it in almost every forum it can? Through lawfare (IAEA, NPT, etc), lobbying Pacific nations to oppose, invoking various arms treaty obligations, and a heavy investment in shaping the public debate here in Australia. If it’s such a mistake, and they anticipate that they’ll be able to counter it, why do all of this? It’s certainly not because they respect all of these international institutions. Not because they respect arms control - the PRC is not, and will not, signed up to any nuclear arms control mechanisms like the USA and USSR (now Russia) did.
There’s an old maxim, ascribed to Napoleon from memory, that if you see your adversary making a mistake you shouldn’t interrupt them. So, it makes me wonder why China cares so much.
The "I can't believe it's not politics" thread.