P.S. I'm sorry to be political, but I truly can't believe the amount of money the Australian government is spending on new weapons projects - never seen anything like it in my 50-years....
Regards
Pioneer
Have you heard of China?
Yes
sferrin, I'm accutly aware of China, the same regime in which this exact same government was so comfortably in bed with up until COVID, then it does this amazing about turn 'focus' on the same hand that feeds it, as if it was willed by our principle ally...
I have to admit, I'm so relieved to see our military refocusing on conventional warfare, which has been growing as obvious as a bull in a China shop, as opposed to this total and utter focus on this bullshit 'war of terrorism'.
My whole issue
sferrin is that China hasn't grown over night, it's openly exserted it intent for over a decade, which Australia has been so massively and willing to contribute, and yet all of a sudden, Australia is buying arms like kids in a lolly shop.
Much of the equipment Australia has purchased has been like a fanfare of sorts, with little, if any strategic focus or intent of their operability, let alone how do we maintain it in time of war, let alone peacetime - the Tiger, NH90 and the M1 Abrams are just a couple of examples. Our purchasing of platforms seems to have very little forethought to the operability with our principle ally - the U.S., whom we've served diligently since 2001. Our focus of purchasing ships has gone from the U.S. to Spanish and now Britain, oh and let's not forget the French subs...Where is the focus, the logistic commonality, the supply chain?
I hate to say it, but it looks as if the Australian government is more focused on "business dealings" than warfighting, what with their seemingly endless 'Captain's Picks' and curtailing of stringent bidding and evaluation - to the point that the Auditor General is asking 'what the f@#£?', oh and let's not forget the clever 'we want to be a big arms dealer to every screwed up regime, we once would have condemned and or critised.
I'm sorry, but I really have to ask what is actually perceived as 'need' and what is actually 'bling factor' that the ADF is purchasing?
Can we effectively operate and maintain it in a wartime situation?
Is the equipment/platforms excessive to real Australian Military needs?
No I'm sorry
sferrin, but in a nutshell, what I'm afraid of here, is that this government (over the time of its three Prime Minister's) have/has become very comfortable with their own little cozy 'Australian Military/Political Industrial Complex', where business dealings with taxpayers money has become just like kids buying lollies in a lolly shop.
The ADF has in reality struggled to get reasonable funding over the past 30-40 years, and yet in the past eight years, the flood gate miraculously seems to have just been left open, without question, without serious scrutiny.
If a war is coming with China, as I'm adamant it is, my concern is with the Digger's and not the politicians and the lucrative deals they made behind close doors, under the vale of 'National Security' and 'Corporate confidentiality, as we've recently seen with the Thales and Rheinmetall like:
"While it found Defence was effective in detailing its requirements and evaluating the tender process, the report said a number of aspects lacked other details and skipped steps, resulting in being "partially effective".
It added there were "gaps" in relevant documentation relating to the tender process as well as shortcomings in the project's management of conflict of interest."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05...on-against-auditor-over-hawkei-report/9792734
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/st...-tender-process-partly-effective-audit-finds/
Regards
Pioneer