News, Articles and Comment

Ed. Rear Admiral James Goldrick AO CSC RAN (Retired) (1958–2023) was a towering figure in Australian and international naval thought – a commander at sea and ashore, a scholar of maritime history, and a teacher whose influence reshaped generations of naval professionals. His life’s work bridged the helm and the classroom, the bridge and the seminar room, the Royal Australian Navy, and its partners around the world. Given the breadth of his influence across command, education, and maritime thought, this volume seeks to consolidate and extend that legacy through critical reflection.

Ed. Originally published in two parts in 1999 [87/1, p. 3 & 87/2, p. 105], the author elaborated with particular clarity the strategic, operational and doctrinal rationale for what is now the current RN carrier aviation capability in the Joint Armed Forces post-Cold War environment. A 50 minute read.

Ed. The expert authors investigate the history of 21^st century space warfare, a legally undefined arena for grey zone conflict. A 25 minute read.

Ed. With his trademark dissident perspective, the author tackles what he describes as the long-term decline of European and British maritime power, and compares the present situation in the Middle East with the financial consequences of the outbreak of war in 1914. A 15 minute read.

Ed. With John Mearsheimer’s ultrarealism firmly in mind, the author addresses the logic of abiding by, and violating, the international law of war. A 15 minute read.

Ed. The author examines the state-of-the-art with regard to Polar icebreaker investment and development, and considers the relative cost for future RN procurement in increasingly competitive theatres. A 30 minute read.

Ed. If the recent conflict in the Middle East has confirmed anything, it is that sea power remains essential to our nation’s prosperity. Much has been written about Operation EPIC FURY, the rapidly evolving threats we face and our ability to counter them, and how advances in drones, uncrewed and autonomous systems have forever changed the way we fight. But some things remain constant, as evidenced by Iran shutting the Strait of Hormuz, the vital maritime chokepoint through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits.

Ed. As Operation EPIC FURY ebbs and flows, may I propose a new principle of war? Always follow the money.

Ed. The author applies game theory to argue that the April 2026 operation against a Russian decoy-and-GUGI formation represents a game-theoretic inflection point, and sets out the dominant strategy the Royal Navy requires to make deterrence by denial of effect systematic rather than episodic. A 10 minute read.