Latest news July 2025

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BROADSIDE - JULY 2025 Edition NOTE: To read Broadside in Flipbook form, click on the "Full Screen" arrows.
	27 July US Chief of Naval Operations concerned about submarine construction tempo As usual, the sunny optimism of Australian politicians and the leadership of the RAN about the purchase of second-hand Virginia class submarines is in stark contrast to the more cautious position of the US. At his confirmation hearing on July 24 in Washington DC, Admiral Daryl Caudle, explained – as numerous other US officials have done – that the rate of construction will have to double before a sale can occur. More.....
27 July UK and Australia flex military might in Darwin Defence Minister Richard Marles and British counterpart John Healey met aboard the British Royal Navy's flagship docked in Darwin. For the first time in nearly 30 years, the UK's HMS Prince of Wales has arrived in Australian waters.
27 July Korean Veterans’ Day: Honouring their enduring legacy On Korean Veterans’ Day, 27 July, we commemorate the men and women who served in the Korean War. Among the more than 18,000 Navy, Army, and Air Force personnel who served, 367 lost their lives: 340 in the Korean War, 16 while monitoring the ceasefire after the armistice, and 11 in the support base in Japan. We remember all who served including those wounded, those taken prisoner, and those who lost their lives, including over 40 who have no known grave. More.....	25 July Undersea sensors—a US trump card China knows it must eliminate Unseen, largely unknown and, until recently, highly classified, the US Navy’s vast network of underwater sonars is one of its greatest advantages over rival fleets. The United States can detect many, if not most, enemy submarines through much of the world’s oceans. A sub that can be detected can also be killed. It’s a profound problem for the Chinese navy as it eyes a possible amphibious assault across the Taiwan Strait. More.....
25 July Operation Accordion Operation Accordion is the Australian Defence Force (ADF) support mission to ADF operations and activities in the Middle East Region.
25 July Artefacts from Royal Navy First World War battleship recovered from seabed For the first time in more than a century iconic artefacts from a tragic WW1 battleship are above the waves – recovered from the wreck in Scapa Flow. Divers have brought the bell, badge and tampion – gun barrel cover – of HMS Vanguard from the bed of Scapa Flow to the surface. It’s the first – and most important – step in plans to create a new exhibition and memorial in Orkney to the 843 souls lost in a cataclysmic explosion in July 1917. More.....	24 July Sister ships sail side by side If HMAS Sydney looked like it was sailing with a twin, that’s because it was. The Royal Australian Navy’s guided missile destroyer sailed with Spain’s ESPS Méndez Núñez as part of the United Kingdom’s Carrier Strike Group deployment. Both warships were built by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia and share the same hull design. The difference is that they were commissioned 14 years apart. More.....
24 July Supporting bereaved families one step at a time In response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, the Government is working to better support families through grief and bereavement, in a way that works best for their individual circumstances. In an Australian first, a workshop for over 30 bereaved family members of veterans who have died by suicide from across Australia will begin today. More.....	23 July Australia pays US another $525 million to bolster AUKUS industrial base Australia, in the midst of a Pentagon review of the AUKUS submarine program, has announced a second payment of $800M AUD ($525 million USD), meaning the Lucky Country has now invested $1.6 billion AUD to the three-nation effort. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the $525 million USD payment in an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corporation this afternoon, saying “we support AUKUS. We have an agreement.” More.....
23 July UK flagship debuts in Australia as HMS Prince of Wales arrives in Darwin Jets of water from the cannon of appreciative tugs today welcomed the UK’s flagship HMS Prince of Wales into Darwin – the first Royal Navy aircraft carrier to visit Australia in a generation. Not since HMS Illustrious sailed into Fremantle on the Ocean Wave deployment of 1997 has the White Ensign and Union Jack flown on the flight deck of a British flattop in an Australian naval base. More.....	23 July Multinational Task Group sea power display Combined Task Group 628.1 (CTG628) has completed force preparation in anticipation of the next stage of Exercise Talisman Sabre 25. Thirteen warships conducted intricate officer-of-the-watch manoeuvres as they positioned the extensive force of the amphibious assault ships, escorting frigates and destroyers into a close ‘arrowhead formation’ to conduct an aerial PHOTEX (photo exercise). More.....
23 July HMAS Sydney leaves Talisman Sabre on a high After participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre, the Royal Australian Navy air warfare destroyer HMAS Sydney has started the journey home to Fleet Base East. Sydney was the only Australian warship that transited as part of the Talisman Sabre double carrier formation with the UK Carrier Strike Group (CSG), led by HMS Prince of Wales, and the US Navy’s George Washington CSG. More.....	23 July HMAS Parramatta returns to the water HMAS Parramatta has been undocked at the BAE Systems Henderson shipyard, Western Australia, marking a major milestone in the Anzac Midlife Capability Assurance Program (AMCAP). This achievement signals that the long-running upgrade program is approaching its final stages. Acting Commanding Officer Parramatta Lieutenant Commander David Ward said the undocking process required meticulous planning and coordination between Defence and industry. More.....
23 July Flying start for Sydney's Electra flight When the 19 personnel of Flight 806 joined HMAS Sydney the day it left Fleet Base East in late March, for Able Seaman Louise Schutz it was just days after her wedding. “We got married in Milton with Pigeon House Mountain in the background, the sun burning through the peaks, it was just the most perfect day,” Able Seaman Schutz said. “Within that week, I was on deployment. I haven’t seen all my wedding photos yet.” More.....	22 July Colourful care for HMAS Sydney The racks on HMAS Sydney are looking more colourful thanks to a new batch of Aussie Hero Quilts. About 30 quilts were gifted to the crew during a stop in Darwin after a three-month regional presence deployment. Aussie Hero Quilts is an online community, made up of more than 300 volunteers who make gifts to send to deployed personnel to remind them their service is appreciated. More.....
22 July Marines, Aussies Provide New Details on Army SM-6 Anti-Ship Missile Test U.S. Marines and Australian Army units teamed up with the U.S. Army last week as part of a multi-service team to sink a cargo ship at sea with a Standard Missile 6 fired from the Typhon missile system as part of the Talisman Sabre exercise in Australia, according to new details provided by the Marines. More.....	22 July Navy Inks New Logistics Deal with Japan, Australia A new contested logistics deal could make it easier for the U.S. Navy to resupply and rearm warships should a conflict break out in the Pacific. The new logistics blueprint – signed earlier this month by the U.S. Navy, the Royal Australian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force – will allow the U.S. to expand its ongoing working relationships with the other two navies for the first time. More.....
22 July Australia’s landing craft shortfall is apparent in Talisman Sabre drills Australia’s military has ambitious plans to expand its ship-to-shore capability. However, the army is relying upon ageing and limited numbers of amphibious assets to land them on beaches, as the delivery date of new landing craft faces serious delays. This amphibious connector capability gap was apparent during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, held from 13-27 July, as multiple nations conducted amphibious operations. More.....	21 July Greenroom Robotics approved for trilateral tech missions Australia’s Greenroom Robotics has been granted AUKUS Authorised User status by the Australian Government. This status, part of the AUKUS trilateral export agreement, gives Greenroom access to licence-free exports to the United States and United Kingdom to fast-track delivery of advanced technologies between AUKUS nations. Founded by former Royal Australian Navy engineers and multi-generational mariners, Greenroom Robotics specialises in world-leading and cutting-edge navigation and situational awareness software that converts any ship or boat into a fully autonomous, AI-enabled vessel. More.....
21 July Fighter controllers integrate skills on Sydney Four fighter controllers, from the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy, have embarked on an exchange on board HMAS Sydney. In late June, the ship sailed out of Singapore with the United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group (CSG), deployed to the Indo-Pacific region under Operation Highmast and led by HM Ships Prince of Wales and Dauntless. While on board Sydney, the four fighter controllers worked in the Combat Information Centre, where they supported air operations using tactical control methods. More.....	20 July Dog watch on board HMAS Canberra When you hear Charlie barking and the bright smiles it generates among the soldiers, marines and sailors around, you know that the Australian Amphibious Force’s on-board HMAS Canberra favourite asset is nearby. Charlie, an explosive detection dog with the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, and his handler Sapper Brandon Subloo, have embarked Canberra for Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025. It is the first time the pair have been on board a warship and they are excited to be here. More.....
19 July Defence must get better at managing big, expensive projects, chief says The Australian Defence Force must get better at managing taxpayer dollars on massive projects, the nation's highest-ranked military office has acknowledged. Chief of Defence Admiral David Johnston has said the ADF does need to "do better" as the military equips itself to carry forward the mammoth AUKUS project, which is currently under review by the Trump administration. More.....	18 July Mighty US and Royal Navy carrier force operates in the Timor Sea A mighty allied naval force with US and Royal Navy aircraft carriers at its heart is operating in the Timor Sea as the largest military exercise ever staged in Australia moves up a gear. HMS Prince of Wales is leading the UK Carrier Strike Group in Exercise Talisman Sabre, which involves some 35,000 personnel from 19 nations spread over a vast area spanning the Northern Territory and Queensland from Darwin to Brisbane. More.....
17 July Navy diver breaks own record in search of wreck A Navy clearance diver has completed a record-breaking dive to lay eyes on a wreck that had not been visited in more than 120 years. As part of the Sydney Project dive team, Lieutenant Ruslan Pnevski descended 160 metres to the wreck of SS Nemesis, a coal hauler that sank during a ferocious storm off the NSW coast in 1904. More.....	17 July Australian Navy tests Q-CTRL’s quantum sensing tech Australian quantum tech company Q-CTRL has tested its advanced quantum navigation sensors with the Australian Defence Force aboard the Australian Navy’s multi-role aviation training vessel MV Sycamore. As informed, in these trials, Q-CTRL field deployed a quantum dual gravimeter, which measures tiny variations in Earth’s gravity as part of a next-generation quantum-assured positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) system operable when GPS is unavailable or untrusted. More.....
16 July Send in the clouds – Aussie weatherman helps UK flagship forecast weather Making the final forecasts of his three-month stint aboard the UK’s flagship is Australian weatherman Liam Humphrey who’s completing an exchange with the Royal Navy. The Royal Australian Navy officer has been assigned to aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales since she sailed from Portsmouth in late April on an exchange programme with our Commonwealth allies. He’ll end his time aboard the aircraft carrier as it leads the Royal Navy’s involvement in the largest military exercise ever staged in Australia, Talisman Sabre. More.....	16 July Carrier USS George Washington Joins Talisman Sabre Drills off Australia The U.S. Navy’s George Washington Carrier Strike Group is joining in exercise Talisman Sabre, contributing thousands of sailors to the largest iteration of the multilateral exercise off the coast of Australia in the CSG’s first major international exercise since returning to Japan. The U.S. is one of 19 nations and 35,000 troops engaging in Talisman Sabre 2025, which has been held every two years since 2005. More.....
16 July Sydney joins UK Carrier Strike Group in home waters On the return leg of its regional presence deployment, HMAS Sydney integrated with the United Kingdom’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) in the Indo-Pacific region, before joining Exercise Talisman Sabre in Australian waters. Departing Singapore in late June, Sydney joined the UK CSG’s Operation Highmast, with crew conducting training and engagement with ships and personnel from Norway, Spain, New Zealand and the UK. More.....	16 July Recognising Operational Service in the Indo-Pacific The ship’s company of HMAS Stuart has today been recognised, with approximately 150 personnel among the first in the nation to receive the Australian Operational Service Medal (AOSM) – Indo-Pacific, during a ceremony at Henderson Shipyard in Western Australia. This is the Australian Defence Force’s newest medal, acknowledging the role Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel have, and continue, to play in operations throughout our Indo-Pacific region. More.....
16 July Defence senior ranks to be purged As we have reported in the current edition of APDR, a major shakeup is in the pipeline for the senior ranks of Defence. Service Chiefs have been directed to cut 1-star and above positions by 30%. A reduction of similar magnitude is under consideration for APS staff. If carried out in full, this would see about 270 of the highest-paid and most experienced people being politely shown the door. However, at this stage, there seems to be no change to the structure and function of the Department, so cuts of this magnitude will have the effect of slowing down productivity, not speeding it up – at least not in the short term. More.....	16 July The future of US facilities in northern Australia As the Indo-Pacific becomes the defining theatre of 21st-century strategic competition, northern Australia has emerged as a crucial area for US force projection and deterrence. But while their presence offers undeniable strategic value, it also raises serious questions about infrastructure strain, sovereignty and Australia’s long-term role in US defence planning, particularly under the Trump administration. If the US presence is to serve Australia’s national interests, we must lead a transparent, whole-of-government conversation about purpose, risks, and the public investments required to support this presence. More.....
15 July Strengthening Defence's space edge For the first time, the Australian Defence Force will establish a purpose-built space workforce. The 2024 Defence Workforce Plan highlighted the need to recruit and retain highly‑specialised personnel for emerging capabilities, including space. To meet the demands of the evolving space domain, Defence will soon begin targeted recruitment and training for highly specialised roles to grow its existing space workforce across areas including satellite communications and operations, position, navigation and timing, intelligence and surveillance. More.....	15 July Review to modernise reserve force The Strategic Review of the Australian Defence Force Reserves identified 17 recommendations to modernise the ADF Reserve, supporting an integrated, focused force prepared to meet evolving strategic challenges. The review recommendations aim to strengthen reserve contributions across the workforce, build capability and boost the specialist domains, including space and cyber. More.....
15 July Pacific Military Balance Tilting in China’s Favor, Says New Defense of Japan Report Officials in Tokyo released their Defense of Japan 2025 white paper this week with findings the international community is facing its greatest risk of conflict since World War II. The paper pointed to Russia, China and North Korea as primary regional security threats. The report also found U.S. U.S.-China strategic competition has been escalating and that the military balance between China and Taiwan has been rapidly tilting in China’s favor. More.....	15 July Quantum clocks guarantee precise navigation Optical quantum clocks developed at the University of Adelaide have been proven to outperform GPS navigation systems by many orders of magnitude. The clocks, which were put through their paces in naval exercises, were developed by a team led by the University of Adelaide’s Professor Andre Luiten, Chief Innovator and Chair of Experimental Physics at the Institute of Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), in partnership with colleagues at the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG). More.....
15 July First physical evidence of blast wave injury found in an Australian soldier's brain Australian scientists examining the brain of a deceased veteran have found evidence of an unusual pattern of brain scarring seen in people repeatedly exposed to blast waves. Around 450 serving soldiers and veterans have pledged their brains to the Australian Veterans Brain Bank following their deaths, hoping that within them there will be microscopic evidence explaining the invisible damage caused by years of service. More.....	15 July South Pacific threats are rising. JORN now needs to look eastwards Australia’s eastern maritime approaches haven’t got much attention since World War II. Defence policy has tended to look northwards and westwards. So, too, do the three great Jindalee over-the-horizon radars that we have deep inland. But this year the Chinese navy, sailing down the coast of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, has shown us that we need to widen that radar vision eastwards. More.....
14 July U.S. to Construct Philippine Fast Boat Base Near South China Sea Flashpoints The U.S. plans to fund and build a facility capable of hosting watercraft and assault boats on the western coast of Palawan in support of Manila’s operations into the disputed waters of the South China Sea, according to new documents. A solicitation for a boat maintenance facility seeks to construct support infrastructure to host Philippine vessels in the municipality of Quezon, located only 160 miles east of the flashpoint of Second Thomas Shoal. More.....	14 July EXERCISE TALISMAN SABRE 2025 OPENS Australia’s largest bilateral military exercise, Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, officially commenced today with an opening ceremony held on board HMAS Adelaide. The Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral Justin Jones, joined the United States Commanding General of U.S. Army Pacific, Lieutenant General Joel B. Vowell, for the official launch at Garden Island, Sydney. Now in its 11th iteration, Talisman Sabre 2025 marks the most expansive and complex warfighting exercise ever conducted in Australia. More.....
14 July Australia, UK & US Agree Naval Logistics Deal Australian and Japanese flag officers agreed to further enhance logistics interoperability among their maritime forces. Their intent is to enable deeper maritime cooperation among the three nations, building upon their enduring commitment to stability and security in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. Navy, JMSDF, and RAN routinely collaborate on a bilateral basis for logistics and other topics under a strategic dialogue framework that has been in place for several years. More.....	14 July Japan’s Mogami offer, including IP rights, could be model for Tokyo’s future exports Should Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and its Mogami-class frigate win Australia’s General Purpose Frigate program, the company is prepared to hand over the intellectual property to Canberra, a result of a major push by Japan’s government. The hope in Tokyo is that the sharing of IP will help secure the Mogami’s win, which would represent Japan’s first major weapons export since World War II, marking a sharp turn from 80 years of strictly defensive weapons development aimed only at the Japanese Self-Defense Force. More.....
14 July HMAS Sydney hosts Carrier Strike Group Commodore HMAS Sydney has welcomed the Commander of the United Kingdom’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG), Royal Navy Commodore James Blackmore, on board for a tour of the Australian destroyer. The meeting took place at sea as Sydney integrated with the CSG en route to Australia, where it will wrap up its regional presence deployment and join Exercise Talisman Sabre. More.....	14 July Tradition in every stitch Self-described “maker, manager, inventor and cleaner”, Umit Erturk, 73, and his wife Evangelia Erturk, 74, have handcrafted bespoke ceremonial regalia for the ADF for 54 years, a “sovereign capability” that Warrant Officer Ceremonial – Air Force Jason Randell said should remain Australian-owned. Mr and Mrs Erturk started their company, Spear of Fame, in 1993 when Defence decided to outsource ceremonial product manufacturing. More.....
13 July Philippine Coast Guard Intercepts Chinese Spy Ship A Philippine Coast Guard cutter intercepted a Chinese Navy spy ship within Manila’s western exclusive economic zone over the weekend. BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) met the Type 815G electronic surveillance ship Tianwangxing (793) and the escorting China Coast Guard Zhaojun-class cutter 4203 around 70 nautical miles west of the Philippine archipelago on Saturday morning. More.....	12 July ADF watches for Chinese spy ships monitoring Talisman Sabre exercises as PM heads to Shanghai As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese heads north to China for a week-long visit, Australia's defence force says it is watching for Chinese spy vessels heading south. Defence has confirmed it expects Chinese surveillance vessels to monitor the biannual Talisman Sabre war games taking place off the Queensland and Northern Territory coastlines in the coming weeks. More.....
12 July US commander says China has failed to coerce rivals in South China Sea China has failed to intimidate rival claimant states into surrendering their sovereign interests in the disputed South China Sea despite its intensifying “bullying tactics,” and the United States and other allied countries are ready to further boost deterrence against Beijing’s aggression, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander said. Adm. Stephen Koehler, who oversees the largest naval fleet command in the world, gave assurances Friday in a Manila forum of U.S. commitment to help defend freedom of passage and the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region. More.....	12 July RAN Seahawk Fleet Marks Decade of Operational Success The Royal Australian Navy has celebrated a significant milestone with its fleet of MH-60R Seahawk helicopters achieving ten years of operational service and surpassing 50,000 flight hours in defence of the nation’s maritime interests. This impressive achievement highlights the Navy’s ongoing commitment to maintaining a highly capable and combat-ready aviation force. More.....
11 July Stay away, yachties warned, as Exercise Talisman Sabre turns Shoalwater Bay into live-fire danger zone Authorities are warning hundreds of yachties cruising along the Queensland coast to steer clear of a major military exclusion zone where combat simulations with live ammunition are taking place. It comes just weeks before two of Queensland's biggest yacht racing events. A marine danger area alert at Shoalwater Bay on the Capricorn Coast is in effect until July 17 as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre, which involves 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations. More.....	11 July Canberra's crew tested for Talisman Sabre ‘Beep, beep, beep’ booms through the ship’s intercom system, also known as a pipe, as a voice calls out “brace for impact”. Personnel comply as if it was real, though that’s all part of HMAS Canberra’s unit readiness evaluation. Sea Training Group, better known throughout the fleet as ‘Green Team’ because of the green brassards they wear on their right sleeve, tests the crew’s readiness with different scenarios. More.....
10 July US, Australia and Japan sign trilateral naval logistics agreement Australia, Japan and the United States today signed an agreement to further enhance logistics interoperability among their maritime forces, marking the first time a trilateral logistics agreement has been established among the three nations. The move is meant to enable naval vessels from the three countries to provide logistics support for each other with areas of cooperation including the reloading of missile systems and flexible refuelling. More.....	10 July New aircraft carriers face years of delivery delays Two new aircraft carriers will yet again experience delays in delivery, after already having previously delayed in past years, Navy budget documents reveal. The delivery of the U.S. Navy’s next Ford-class aircraft carrier, to be christened the John F. Kennedy, will now be delayed by two more years, the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget justification documents show. It had been scheduled to be delivered this month. Delivery is now pushed back until March 2027. More.....
10 July OUR JULY HERO Captain Gerald Mellor 'Gerry' HAYNES DSO Captain Gerald Mellor 'Gerry' Haynes’s wartime career combined skill and daring at sea and in the air. He was officer of the watch in HMS Victorious in the chase that destroyed the German pocket battleship Bismarck. Gerald Haynes was born on 11 October 1911 in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton and entered the Royal Australian Naval College, Jervis Bay, as a Cadet Midshipman in 1925. He was promoted to Midshipman in May 1929 and undertook training at sea in the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia and with the Royal Navy in the battleship HMS Royal Oak and the destroyers HMS Acasta and HMS Vimiera; he then attended the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, and specialist schools at Portsmouth. In May 1935 he was promoted to Lieutenant and on 28 August 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, he joined the heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra as a watchkeeping and divisional officer; the ship carried out patrolling and escort duties in the Tasman Sea. In May 1940 he was chosen to undertake an air observer’s course with the Royal Navy. Having had brief civilian pilot training, he was seconded to the RN Fleet Air Arm on the their assumption - which he did not discourage - that his "nine hours and 50 minutes" civilian flying was 950 hours. Keep reading about this fascinating hero.......
10 July Former Wren recognised for wartime service on 101st birthday A former Royal Navy Wren has been recognised for her wartime service at her 101st birthday celebrations in Nottinghamshire. Thelma served in the WRNS (Women’s Royal Naval Service) between 1943-45, starting at HMS Pembroke training establishment in Mill Hill in North London, before serving as part of the Flower Class Corvette Division at HMS Eaglet, cleaning and refurbishing depth charges to be used during the Battle of the Atlantic. More.....	09 July 'Enormous value': UK's top AUKUS envoy insists the pact delivers for the US The United Kingdom's top AUKUS envoy has backed Australia's "massive" contributions to the defence technology pact, saying the agreement delivers "enormous value" to the US and its two military allies. The US Department of Defense caught Australia by surprise in May when it kickstarted an internal snap review of AUKUS, saying it wanted to ensure it was aligned with Donald Trump's "America First" agenda. More.....
09 July Construction advances on Australia’s first Hunter-class frigate The Hunter-class Frigate Program has hit a milestone after the first two machinery units for the first ship were consolidated under the construction phase of the program. The two steel units UB31T and UB21T now make up part of hull block 3 in the ship’s keel. This area will house auxiliary machinery, plumbing systems and cold storage facilities for perishables. It will also include an elevator for crewmembers to move food and equipment between the galley and mess hall on the upper decks. More.....	09 July ‘Catastrophic failures’: Defence budget squeeze hits navy maintenance The Defence budget squeeze has starved the Royal Australian Navy of sustainment funding. We see this in the scandalous state of two of the Royal Australian Navy’s most significant ships, revealed in an Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report on 27 June. The two LHD-type amphibious assault ships were troubled from the start. HMAS Canberra was handed by BAE Systems to the navy in 2014 with an astounding 6,640 defects and deficiencies. HMAS Adelaide followed a year later with 2,240 defects. More.....
09 July All on board for board games “Want to uck?” might be an alarming phrase the first time someone hears it, but in HMAS Sydney, it’s an everyday question, with an innocent meaning. Uckers is a game first made popular in the Royal Navy and then by other Commonwealth armed forces. It’s similar to Ludo, with four players in teams where the goal is to be the first to move all the colourful pieces around the board and into a home base. More.....	07 July History of a shared maritime narrative Navy acknowledges its strong connection with the Saltwater People of Blue Mud Bay, in honour of NAIDOC Week. On July 30, 2008, the full bench of the High Court of Australia confirmed that the traditional owners of Blue Mud Bay, together with the traditional owners of almost the entire Northern Territory coastline, had exclusive rights to the tidal waters overlaying Aboriginal land. More.....
07 July Arafura joins the Fleet On Saturday 28 June 2025, Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Arafura was Commissioned into service in a ceremony at Fremantle, Western Australia.
07 July Queensland Kidd is going places Growing up in the semi-rural Queensland town of Jimboomba, Leading Seaman Sarah Kidd always had a love for the outdoors. Surrounded by cattle and sheep farms, with the beach just a 45-minute drive away, she spent her spare time surfing and jogging, developing a passion for fitness and adventure. When the time came to choose a career path, she found herself drawn to the Navy’s strong fitness culture and opportunities to travel the world. More.....	07 July Don’t kid yourself, Australia: a Taiwan war would spread across the Indo-Pacific Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s second visit to China—pencilled in for this month—will come weeks before the People’s Liberation Army’s 98th anniversary on 1 August 2025, a date laden with symbolism as Beijing approaches the military modernisation milestone of its centenary in 2027. Since 2021, US military and intelligence officials have warned that 2027 marks another key milestone: the date that Xi Jinping has instructed his military to have the capability to invade Taiwan. More.....
05 July Leidos launches Sea Archer small unmanned surface vessels Defence technology firm Leidos has revealed its newest uncrewed surface vessel (USV), the Sea Archer, a compact, diesel-powered maritime platform that blends affordability, range and firepower with cutting-edge autonomy, all in a trailer transportable package. Capable of reaching speeds up to 40 knots and executing sharp 180-degree turns, the 11-metre craft can be launched from a standard boat trailer and towed by a utility vehicle. It carries over 900 kilograms of enclosed payload, boasts an operational range of over 2,400 kilometres, and most notably, operates with no crew on board. More.....	04 July Navy able to Sweep the seas for mines as drone system is accepted into service The Royal Navy has accepted into service a series of uncrewed drones that are able to trick enemy mines into exploding harmlessly. The aim of the new Sweep system is to hunt and detonate naval mines without putting personnel in harm's way. Sweep pairs an uncrewed surface vessel with a sophisticated towed sensor, with the drone being controlled remotely on the surface. More.....
04 July Sydney’s 100 days at sea full of firsts HMAS Sydney has completed 100 days at sea since leaving Fleet Base East for a regional presence deployment, and it has been a busy time for the 20 people in the boatswain department. Between boating operations and light line transfers, the boatswains of Sydney have conducted multiple replenishments at sea (RAS) with United States Navy ships John Lewis and Wally Shirra and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships Mashu and Tokiwa. This allowed a number of team members to complete the first RAS of their career. More.....	03 July Japan’s government pushes hard to woo Aussies with advanced frigate Japan isn’t being shy about its desire to turn Australia into the inaugural customer for its advanced Mogami frigate, with the usually-conservative Ministry of Defense taking the rare step of flying Australian-based reporters to Nagasaki this week in order to hype up the Mogami’s capabilities. Reporters were briefed for three days about the ship’s systems, Japan’s strong view that it and Australia would benefit from an even closer defense and industrial relationship and the fact that shipbuilder Mistubishi Heavy Industry will include all the program’s intellectual property and provide parts and support for the ships predicted 40-year lifespan. More.....
03 July Indian pact bolsters undersea surveillance Defence is taking strides to enhance undersea surveillance technologies under the first science and technology project arrangement with India. The inaugural project aims to improve the early detection and tracking of submarines and autonomous underwater vehicles. The leading-edge research will explore using Towed Array Target Motion Analysis to improve the reliability, efficiency and interoperability of current surveillance capabilities. More.....	03 July HMAS Harman the ship without water About 120km from the nearest ocean sits Royal Australian Navy base HMAS Harman, outside of Canberra. This "stone frigate", a naval term for a shore-based facility, plays a vital role in Australia's defence, though not in the way one might typically associate with a Navy base. Harman’s story began in the 1920s, when the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board recognised the need for strategic wireless stations in Canberra and Darwin. More.....
02 July Disgraced Admiral has service and commission terminated, Ministry of Defence says The service of Admiral Sir Ben Key, the former head of the Royal Navy, has ended in disgrace after an investigation found he fell "far short of the values and standards expected". Sir Ben, 59, was reportedly suspended from his role as First Sea Lord in May over claims he had an affair with a female subordinate. A statement from the MOD said. "This has resulted in termination of service and his commission." More.....	02 July Royal Navy Field Gun Competition: It's tough, unforgiving – and spectacular Teams from across all three services and even abroad recently came together to compete in one of the Royal Navy's proudest and most enduring traditions – the Field Gun Competition. There's honour at stake and it's taken extremely seriously. But have you ever wondered what it's all about, how it started and why it still goes ahead today? More.....
02 July Quad Leaders Meet in Washington Amid Strains Over China US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed his Australian, Indian and Japanese counterparts in Washington on Tuesday for a high-stakes meeting of the Quad, aiming to strengthen cooperation against China’s assertiveness even as bilateral frictions threaten unity. In his opening remarks, Rubio sought to reassure partners of America’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific, declaring: “This Quad meeting reaffirms our shared resolve to ensure a free, open and prosperous region.” More.....	02 July Public consultation opens for the Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Regulations The Government is taking an important step as part of Australia’s acquisition of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines. Today, public consultation has opened on the regulatory framework that will underpin Australia’s Naval Nuclear Power Safety Regulator. This consultation allows for the development of a framework that will ensure the highest standards of nuclear safety and radiological protection are applied across the nuclear-powered submarine program. More.....
02 July Fitness, fun and four gyms at sea Four gyms, multiple high intensity interval training (HIIT) classes per day, flight deck half-marathons, pickle ball and park runs – welcome to life at sea on board HMAS Canberra, where physical and mental wellness is paramount. With plenty happening on board, physical training (PT) is vital to keeping morale high and the crew in peak condition. That’s where physical training instructors (PTIs) Leading Seaman Ally Marsh and Able Seaman Isabella Fitzpatrick come in. More.....	01 July Veterans can earn more before pensions affected From 1 July 2025, veterans can earn more, and the value of their assets can be higher, before their pension payments are affected. The rise in income and asset amounts is in line with the annual indexation process and the income free areas and asset value limits that are used to calculate rates of income support pensions. Different limits may apply for veterans who are assessed under transitional rules. Disability compensation payments and war widow(er)'s pensions are not subject to the income and assets tests. More.....
01 July Not just drones, but massed swarms of them. Defences can’t cope A new and sophisticated phase of aerial warfare has emerged from the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East over the past month, defined by the systematic use of massed drone saturation attacks. This evolving doctrine, refined by Russia and Iran, uses quantity and simultaneity to overwhelm even the most advanced air-defence systems. More.....	01 July Carrier Strike Group 25 sails towards Australia for the largest-ever Exercise Talisman Sabre Carrier Strike Group 25 has departed Singapore and is heading south towards Australia as it continues its eight-month deployment. CSG25 will participate in the eleventh edition of the large-scale Australian-led multinational exercise called Exercise Talisman Sabre, which involves significant US forces. More.....
01 July International cyber forum a milestone for Defence Australia hosted its first Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE) Forum in May, marking a milestone in how Defence delivers cyber training and capability development. Modelled on a forum held annually in the United States, the event was brought to Australia to enhance the way the ADF employs the PCTE – its primary cyber operations training platform. More.....	01 July NATO urges civil-military health alliance NATO member countries and partner nations have reinforced the vital integration required between civilian and military health networks to deliver the best health outcomes during times of crisis and conflict. Surgeon General of the ADF, Rear Admiral Sonya Bennett, represented Australia at the biannual Committee of the Chiefs of Military Medical Services in NATO (COMEDS) meeting in Washington this month. More.....

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