Small Aircraft, Sizeable Threats: Preparing Army to Counter Small Uncrewed Aerial Systems

2024 - Carl Rhodes

Small uncrewed aerial systems (sUAS) are widely available, militarily effective and challenging to defeat. This Occasional Paper on counter-sUAS, prepared under the Army Research Scheme, reviews recent employment of sUAS and evaluates methods to sense and engage these systems.

L’Australia non si piega alla Cina

September 2023 - Carl Rhodes (invited article for Limes Rivista Italiana di Geopolitica)

Beijing’s growing military power and recent economic coercion campaign has resulted in a sea change in thinking about Australia and the strategic environment it is facing. This article reviews the relationship between Australia and China over the past five years to help explain AUKUS and other strategic choices made by Australia. 

Australia needs a centre of excellence to counter small drones

3 September 2024 - Carl Rhodes

The Australian Army must ensure all its soldiers understand the danger posed by small, cheap drones and train them to counter that threat. To best support our forces, a centre of excellence that gathers existing knowledge and provides timely intelligence to Defence is needed.

The US Must Handle Its Fiscal Challenges

10 June 2024 - Carl Rhodes

The United States government finds itself in an unprecedented financial situation. Over the next 12 months, the amount of public debt held by the federal government will exceed the size of the nation’s economy. What does this mean for defence spending and national security? 

Deterrence Down Under: NATO Nuclear Policy & the Indo-Pacific with Jim Stokes

30 September 2024 - Carl Rhodes, Natalie Treloar, Christine Leah and Jim Stokes

Natalie, Christine and Carl are joined by NATO Director of Nuclear Policy, Jim Stokes. They discuss how extended deterrence works at NATO, NATO’s role in the Indo-Pacific, the strategic challenge posed by China, specifically its nuclear buildup, and how NATO needs complementarity and coherence between conventional and nuclear deterrence and defense.

Defence Connect Podcast: Demystifying deterrence and its role in Australia’s future

2 September 2024 - Steve Kuper, Carl Rhodes, Natalie Treloar and Christine Leah

The group discuss a range of topics, including the evolution of deterrence theory throughout the Cold War and in the post-Cold War world as we face an era of great power competition and Australia’s history of using deterrence-focused platforms.