Strategic NewsDefence recruits former Rio Tinto chief to spearhead military manufacturing push - The Mandarin
Defence recruits former Rio Tinto chief to spearhead military manufacturing push - The Mandarin
Jorge Láscar from Australia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
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Defence recruits former Rio Tinto chief to spearhead military manufacturing push - The Mandarin

GNews: Australia defence·2026-10-27AUS DefenceP3: Industrial BaseP2: Fiscal Engine
Why it matters

Recruiting an experienced resource-sector executive to lead military manufacturing reform suggests Defence is serious about building sovereign industrial capacity for AUKUS submarines and broader capability. This addresses a known vulnerability in Australia's ability to deliver the attack-submarine program and critical defence platforms without foreign delays.

Read the original report at GNews: Australia defence

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The Unprepared series · Part III

The Greatest Military Buildup in History

In 1991 the People's Liberation Army watched its own obsolescence unfold on live television. Part III of the Unprepared series.

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This week's Warning Time

This was AUKUS week, and not in the way its architects would have liked. An independent inquiry recommended scrapping the submarine pact outright, a parliamenta…

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Where this sits in the model

This development bears on 2 of the eight pillars of Australian preparedness — the overall picture right now is 5/100.

P3: Industrial Base3/100P2: Fiscal Engine4/100
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What would it take to close this gap? Run the fifty-year model.

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The bigger picture

One signal in a live tracker of Australia's preparedness.

Every story here is scored against eight pillars — defence, energy, industry, fiscal reform, alliances and more — companion to the book Unprepared: Australia in an Age of Chinese Power.

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