Strategy Simulator

Adjust Australia's policy settings and watch the fifty-year trajectory update in real time.

2.05%
1%Now: 2.05%Target: 5%7%
≈ A$60B at 2026 GDP
61k
60kNow: 61kTarget: 140k165k
Now ~61k (recruiting since 1995-96 has missed every target) · grows ≤~2k/yr · programme target 140k via national service
6
6Now: 6Target: 2834
Crewed fleet = 8-10 SSN + 18-24 conventional. SSNs ramp ~0.5/yr (first ~2038); conventional tier faster from ~2031. The 200+ Ghost Shark autonomous undersea drones are a separate tier, not counted here.
34 days
30 daysNow: 34 daysTarget: 90 days180 days
0
0Now: 0Target: 2030
35%
35%Now: 35%Target: 75%85%
Norway: 70-80% · Australia now: ~35%
95$/t
50$/tNow: 95$/t180$/t
A$49B
A$20BNow: A$49BTarget: A$23BA$100B
2.3%
1%Now: 2.3%4%
1.48
1Now: 1.48Target: 2.53
Replacement = 2.1 · Programme target = 2.5 by 2040
311k
0Now: 311kTarget: 50k350k
Current ~311k/yr (ABS) · programme cuts to ~50k, allied/skills only
National Service

Fifty-Year Preparedness Trajectory

Capabilities are delivery-constrained, not instant: personnel grow ≤~2,000/yr, first Virginia ~2032 (first SSN-AUKUS early 2040s), first reactor ~2041, resource-royalty reform ramps over ~10 yrs. Even the full Programme is a multi-decade build — the line crosses "adequate" in the 2040s, not overnight.

Current PolicyThe ProgrammeYour Settings
202620452076

State in 2045

Current Policy
20
/ 100
The Programme
87
/ 100
Your Settings
20
/ 100
P1: Resource Sovereignty18
P2: Fiscal Engine12
P3: Industrial Base24
P4: Demographics & Cohesion12
P5: Strategic Decoupling15
P6: Defence Surge18
P7: Alliance Architecture40
P8: Northern Arc20
Defence Spend
A$92B
Gross Debt
A$1650B
Sovereign Wealth Fund
A$0B
ADF Personnel
61,189
Crewed Submarines
6 hulls
Coastal Batteries
0 batteries
Fuel Reserves
34 days
Population
36.3M
Nuclear Capacity
0.0 GW
Annual Deficit/Surplus
-A$32B
Energy Sovereignty
18/100

Scenario Assessment at Your Settings in 2045

Taiwan Invasion (Kinetic)
unprepared
Insufficient maritime assets and alliance depth to respond
American Strategic Withdrawal
unprepared
Strategically vulnerable if US commitment wavers
Hormuz Closure / Energy Shock
unprepared
Only 34 days of reserves — critical vulnerability
AUKUS Collapse or Major Delay
unprepared
Only 6 crewed boats — the submarine capability gap would be unacceptable
Indonesia Accommodates Chinese Basing
unprepared
Overall preparedness score of 20/100 is insufficient to manage this scenario
This is a simplified model. Capability is gated by affordability: a force is only fielded if the sustained defence budget AND the sovereign industrial base can fund and build it, so the capability sliders cannot deliver on a 2% budget. The critical pillars (defence, industrial base, fiscal engine) cap the headline — a rich-but-undeterred economy does not score as "prepared." Delivery pipelines are hard-coded (crewed submarines ramp over the 2030s-40s; the 200+ Ghost Shark autonomous tier is acknowledged separately, not on the crewed-fleet slider; nuclear reactors ~15 years). Fiscal projections assume no major global shocks. Treat outputs as directional, not precise.