Defence & Security Podcast Network

Breaking barriers and building the skills needed to shape the future of Australia's aerospace and defence industries.

RMIT University aerospace engineering and logistics supply chain student Viviene Beins shares her experience competing in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Design/Build/Fly competition in the US, where she helped lead the composite manufacturing of an aircraft and has now taken on a co-lead role for the next 2026–27 team.
In this episode of The Progress Report, news editor Robert Dougherty sits down with Beins to discuss her journey into aerospace engineering, the challenges women face in entering traditionally male-dominated fields, and the importance of mentorship, perseverance, and strong female leadership.
The pair also explore the subtle barriers women can face in university and engineering environments, factors often overlooked that can discourage women from pursuing careers in STEM.
Beyond gender diversity, Beines reflects on what the Australian aerospace and defence industry can do to attract and retain the next generation of engineers, including providing opportunities for career mobility, skills development, and exposure to cutting-edge programs such as the Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat uncrewed aircraft program.
The Progress Report. New voices. Real stories. Big shifts.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Progress Report team

Defence Connect relaunches our podcast with co-host Phil Tarrant, joined by news editor Robert Dougherty, to discuss the latest developments shaping Australia's defence industry.

The pair discuss defence spending, AUKUS, sovereign capability, emerging technologies, and the growing strategic importance of Western Australia.
The podcast conversation includes the following topics:
Australia's defence spending trajectory and the importance of export opportunities.
AUKUS and opportunities for Australian companies across the trilateral supply chain.
The strategic significance of Western Australia and its growing defence infrastructure.
The People's Republic of China, Taiwan, and the evolving regional security environment.
Austal and the importance of maintaining sovereign shipbuilding capability.
New missile and air-defence capabilities, including JASSM-ER, LRASM, and NASAMS.
The rise of drones, autonomy and new approaches to defence innovation.
Project AIR 6500 and the development of a more integrated battlefield network.
The potential role of deployable microreactors for military and space applications.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson examine the growing debate over Australia's economic direction, drawing on Chris Uhlmann's recent article in The Australian on the "Argentinisation" of Australia.

They unpack the risks posed by weak productivity, rising regulation, higher costs, and falling investment – and ask what sustained economic underperformance could mean for housing, business confidence, and the nation's broader strategic strength.

Because if Australia enters an increasingly contested world from a position of economic weakness, its ability to fund defence, build sovereign capability, and protect its national interests becomes a much bigger question.

Australia's emerging defence technology priorities will only deliver their full potential if they are integrated into a broader operational framework connecting platforms, people, data and decision making, according to Microsoft global defence and intelligence solutions manager Jonathon Beesley and Atturra defence lead Richard Campbell, chief executive officer of SME Gateway.

The 2026 Defence Innovation, Science and Technology Strategy identifies long-range fires and hypersonics, high-energy lasers, autonomous systems, quantum, artificial intelligence and undersea warfare as key priorities.
But translating these capabilities into an integrated force will require Defence to look beyond individual platforms and focus on the architecture connecting sensors, command nodes, decision makers and shooters.
Cloud technology can provide the backbone for this integration, enabling Defence to process the growing volume, variety and velocity of data reaching commanders and personnel at the tactical edge.
AI and autonomous systems can then help fuse that information and provide decision advantage, but humans must remain responsible for critical decisions. Building trust in these systems will be essential, particularly as Defence operates increasingly complex joint and coalition missions.
Australia also cannot be self-reliant in every capability. Instead, it must identify where sovereign control is essential while maintaining secure interoperability with trusted allies.
The experience of Ukraine has demonstrated the value of rapidly adopting and adapting technology, highlighting the importance of a defence culture capable of learning at pace.
For Australia, the next advantage may therefore be a learning advantage; ensuring Defence and industry can understand, adopt and adapt emerging technologies quickly enough to meet the strategic challenges ahead.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect Spotlight team

Australia's defence industry faces a period of growing consolidation and uncertainty, how is past procurement impacting national security of the future?

Speaking with Defence Connect news editor Robert Dougherty, 127 East Advisory director Colin Storey, a former head of growth at Raytheon and Royal Australian Navy patrol boat navigator, discusses his analysis of major defence contracts awarded over the past decade and what the data reveals about Australia's defence industrial base.
Storey's analysis of 373 contracts found more than 27 per cent went directly through foreign military sales, while more than half of the remaining contracts went to foreign-owned companies operating in Australia.
Of the Australian-owned businesses receiving major contracts, much of the spending was concentrated in areas such as infrastructure, facilities and fuel, with Austal emerging as the only Australian-owned defence specialist among the top 20 recipients.
The pair also discuss the gradual offshore consolidation of Australia's defence industry, with major international primes acquiring at least 16 Australian companies over the past four decades.
Combined with the growing cost of major programs and the funding demands of AUKUS, Storey warns this approach could place further pressure on established defence companies, with some potentially reconsidering their long-term presence in Australia.
The pair examine how countries including Sweden, Norway, Finland and Israel have developed successful defence companies by aligning procurement with national priorities, supporting specialised sovereign capabilities and helping domestic firms access export markets.
Looking towards the next decade, Storey expects further consolidation across the Australian defence industry, alongside increased mergers and acquisitions as companies compete for a smaller number of major programs. Australia risks developing a narrower and less resilient defence industrial base unless procurement, sovereign capability and export policy are more closely aligned with the nation's long-term defence strategy, he warns.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team