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Uncrewed and untested: The wrong lessons for a hybrid navy
24 July 2026 | Jennifer Parker *Originally published in The Lowy Institute's The Interpreter on 24 July 2026 Ukraine’s drones achieved sea denial – but that’s not what a blue-water navy needs to maintain. Image: The Rattler, foreground, Unmanned Surface Vehicle escorts HMS Tyne off the coast of Scotland (Daniel Bladen/UK MoD) When the UK launched its Defence Investment Plan on 30 June, the government promised a “generational transformation” of the military that would apply th
Hormuz is no longer one front in US-Iran war - it is becoming a test
19 July 2026 | Jennifer Parker *Originally published with Channel News Asia on 19 July 2026. Access original publication here Image: USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) transits the Arabian Sea while an MH-60S Sea Hawk flies nearby. @CENTCOM page on X. The strategic waterway is becoming the clearest test of whether any state can use force to rewrite the rules governing freedom of navigation United States President Donald Trump’s proposal to charge a 20 per cent fee on cargo moving throu
Despite its best efforts, Iran won’t be able to toll the Strait of Hormuz. Here’s why
29 June 2026 | Jennifer Parker *Originally published in The Conversation on Monday 29 January 2026 Tensions have again escalated in the Middle East, with the United States and Iran trading strikes around the Strait of Hormuz. It follows reports of an Iranian drone attack on a cargo ship trying to transit through the strait. Both the US and Iran have accused each other of breaking the agreed 60-day interim peace deal. Since Iran was attacked by the US and Israel it has increas
AUKUS is about Australia's Vital Interests
16 January 2026 | Jennifer Parker *Originally published in the Australian Financial Review on 16 June 2026 Image: HMA Ships Arunta and Warramunga sail towards a merchant ship in the East Australian Exercise Area during the Fleet Concentration Period. Defence images. Nuclear-powered submarines are not being acquired because Australia is seeking conflict but because it is a maritime trading country. The AUKUS “independent” inquiry opened last week with a familiar list of concer
The battle beneath Australia’s seas
9 June 2026 | Jennifer Parker *Originally published in The Australian Defence Supplement on 2 June 2026 Image: The first Speartooth LUUV is handed over to the US Navy at C2 Robotics’ Melbourne site. From left, RAN Navy’s Directorate of Maritime Integrated Capabilities Captain Tony Miskelly, C2 Robotics chief executive Troy Duggan, and US defence attache in Canberra, Captain Josh Fagan, USN. Picture: C2 Robotics Australia is critically dependent on infrastructure lying on the