Australia and the United States concluded the core phase of a three-week naval drone exercise at Jervis Bay today. Known as Maritime Big Play (MBP), this exercise is part of the AUKUS alliance’s “Pillar II,” which fast-tracks new technologies for autonomy, cyber, electronic warfare, and underwater systems.

The exercise allowed AUKUS partners — Australia, the US, and the UK — to collaborate on deploying and maintaining uncrewed systems. This approach strengthens coalition operations and enhances undersea situational awareness. Madeline Mortelmans, acting Assistant Secretary of Defence for Strategy, praised MBP’s role in advancing these capabilities, noting that it enables forces to operate autonomously in realistic scenarios. One focus this year was expanding the deployment of uncrewed underwater systems launched from British and US submarines, extending operational range and capacity.

The “signature” event of MBP 2024, named Exercise Autonomous Warrior, highlighted advanced uncrewed systems from both nations. The US contributed a range of innovative technologies, including software-defined acoustic modems, autonomous underwater vehicles, and cost-effective unmanned surface vehicles. Additionally, the US demonstrated stratospheric support using high-altitude balloons capable of facilitating communications in jammed environments.

A key objective was developing a unified control system to streamline command across all AUKUS unmanned technologies. This led to tests on the Multi-Domain Uncrewed Secure Integrated Communications (MUSIC) system and the Common Control System (CCS). The MUSIC system promises seamless integration across diverse operational environments, while CCS aims to pave the way for a shared control framework, allowing for standardized hardware and software across partner platforms. Heidi Shyu, Undersecretary of Defence for Research and Engineering, noted that these collaborations create economies of scale, reducing acquisition, maintenance, and training costs.

Australia brought its own innovations, including Innovaero’s OWL-B strike glider, Ocius Technology’s Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessel, and C2 Robotics’ Speartooth underwater drone. Pat Conroy, Minister for Defence Industry, highlighted the Albanese Government’s commitment to bolstering domestic defence tech, recognizing these innovations as vital for Australia’s strategic defence goals.

The UK also participated in portions of MBP, with Japan observing as a prospective partner in the autonomous systems domain. The joint exercises underscore AUKUS’s vision of shared technological advancement, aiming to foster resilient maritime capabilities among the allied nations.

Science Blog – Prof Noel Kitchener

As the world accelerates into the age of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing, one thing becomes crystal clear: tomorrow’s industries will demand vastly more energy than we use today. Intermittent energy sources like solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage cannot provide the reliable, continuous power needed to fuel this revolution. Nuclear energy, on the other hand, stands as the only proven solution that can meet this rising demand while maintaining a clean energy profile. Around the globe, the largest technology companies including Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Oracle, OpenAI, and Meta are investing heavily in nuclear power to safeguard their futures. If Australia fails to embrace this technology, we risk being left behind in the global technological race.

Last week provided a prime example of how serious the tech sector is about nuclear energy. Within the span of just a few days, both Google and Amazon made major announcements about their plans to harness nuclear power for their future operations.

Google announced a partnership with Kairos Power to develop up to 500 megawatts of 24/7 clean nuclear energy to power its artificial intelligence (AI) and data centre operations. This small modular reactor (SMR) is scheduled for completion by 2030, with more reactors to follow shortly after. This investment demonstrates Google’s understanding that nuclear is not just part of the future, but essential to sustaining the vast, uninterrupted energy demands of AI-driven technologies.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is taking similar steps, announcing over $500 million USD in nuclear energy projects to power its extensive global data centres. This includes:

• An agreement with Dominion Energy to explore developing an SMR.
• Support for four SMRs with Energy Northwest.
• Leading a $500 million funding round for X-Energy, a nuclear innovation company.

These commitments are just the beginning. As AI technologies scale, so too will the demand for reliable, non-stop power, power that only nuclear can provide.

In the past few months alone, numerous tech giants have made significant strides toward integrating nuclear power into their future energy strategies:

• Microsoft is partnering with Constellation Energy to reopen Three Mile Island, a move that shows how far the sector is willing to go to secure reliable energy for its data centres.
• Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, has boldly stated that nuclear energy will be a “vital, integral” part of AI’s power needs.
• Amazon recently acquired a data centre campus adjacent to a nuclear plant, signalling its intent to place nuclear at the heart of its energy strategy.
• Oracle is designing a data centre powered by three small modular reactors, showcasing its long-term commitment to nuclear energy.
• Microsoft and OpenAI are reportedly planning a $100 billion supercomputer, which will be powered by nuclear energy.

While the rest of the world moves forward, Australia lags behind due to outdated political opposition to nuclear energy. This aversion is not only ideological but also impractical. Our growing industries and technology sector need reliable, round-the-clock power. Without it, Australia risks falling behind the world’s leading nations in AI, technology development, and advanced industries. As other countries power their progress with nuclear energy, we are being left in the dust, clinging to energy solutions that simply cannot provide the scale and reliability required.

Australian politicians must face the reality: clinging to outdated fears about nuclear energy will only harm our nation’s future. If we are to participate in the global technological revolution, the nuclear ban must be lifted. The stakes are too high to let ideology stand in the way of progress.

It’s time for Australia to embrace the energy of the future nuclear. Our economy, our technological progress, and our place in the world depend on it.

This is a long report of 33 pages – may be of interest to some members

CLICK LINK

21. Mr Mark James

Science Today – Global Warming

Scientists are uncovering remarkable findings beneath the ocean’s surface, from hidden windows into the Earth’s ancient past under the Pacific to lost underwater cities in the Atlantic. However, a new breakthrough indicates they might have missed a crucial layer just above the ocean floor: an ultra-thin, 2mm layer of cold water on the surface. This discovery could have a significant impact on protecting the Earth against global warming.

The British-led team of researchers found that this thin layer on the ocean’s surface acts as a potent carbon sink, absorbing substantial amounts of carbon dioxide. Despite its minuscule thickness, the cold-water film plays a major role in carbon capture. It functions as a unique interface where slight temperature differences between this surface layer and the underlying water enhance CO₂ absorption. This thin layer boosts the ocean’s ability to capture CO₂, which helps in mitigating the effects of global warming.

Globally, oceans are responsible for absorbing about a quarter of all human-created carbon emissions. This newly recognized surface phenomenon could mean the ocean’s contribution to carbon sequestration has been underappreciated in climate models, influencing future climate predictions and potential emissions reduction strategies.

The study, published in Nature Geoscience and submitted to the Global Carbon Budget assessment, involved months of rigorous fieldwork. Teams traversed the Atlantic, enduring challenging weather conditions and measuring subtle variations in CO₂ levels in the air near the ocean’s surface. Led by Daniel Ford, a research fellow at the University of Exeter who conducted much of the fieldwork aboard the RRS Discovery research ship, the team meticulously gathered data to capture the nuanced interactions within this delicate surface layer.

“With the upcoming COP29 climate conference, this research emphasizes the critical role of oceans in climate regulation and offers vital improvements to global carbon assessments guiding emission reduction efforts,” Ford stated.

As tensions rise in the Middle East, Iran is reportedly preparing for the possibility of war with Israel following Tehran’s recent missile strike on October 1. The outcome of this conflict now largely hinges on the scale and nature of Israel’s anticipated response, with Iranian leaders awaiting a signal from Israel before taking further action.

Preparing for Escalation

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has instructed Iran’s armed forces to brace for potential hostilities, with a series of contingency plans based on possible Israeli reactions. Iranian officials have outlined multiple strategies:

• High-Level Retaliation: If Israel’s response leads to significant damage on Iranian targets, Tehran is prepared to launch up to 1,000 ballistic missiles.
• Measured Response: In the event of a more restrained Israeli response, Iran may choose to de-escalate rather than initiate a broader conflict, signalling an attempt to keep the situation from spiralling into full-scale war.

This approach sends a calculated message to Israel, effectively cautioning them against a heavy-handed reaction to avoid further escalation.

Avoiding All-Out War

Iranian officials have emphasized their desire to avoid all-out regional war, while also grappling with the optics of appearing vulnerable. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has engaged in a regional tour, reportedly stressing Iran’s intentions to sidestep escalation. However, this diplomacy has met with some scepticism, with online commentators suggesting that Tehran is feeling the pressure.

Despite Iran’s diplomatic outreach, Major General Hossein Salami, head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), issued a stark warning that Israel’s missile defences, even with U.S. support, may not be sufficient to counter future Iranian strikes.

Israel’s Response Plans

In response, Israel has been actively weighing its military options. Initially, Israeli forces considered targeting Iran’s oil infrastructure or even its nuclear facilities. However, these plans encountered resistance from the U.S., which reportedly discouraged aggressive moves in light of potential regional destabilization. Moreover, a recent leak of confidential U.S. documents disrupted some of Israel’s operational plans.

Despite these setbacks, the Israeli military states that its forces are ready and waiting for the green light from political leadership. As both sides stand poised for possible confrontation, the region watches tensely, aware that a miscalculation could lead to a major escalation in the conflict.

The Sigma – Next Generation Howitzer embodies the future of artillery with a fully automated, cutting-edge design that optimizes both manoeuvrability and precision on the battlefield. Proudly made with American grit at our newly established South Carolina facility, this advanced system is engineered to deliver maximum impact with minimal deployment time. By manufacturing domestically, we’re not only reducing global supply chain risks but also bolstering national security and resilience. This commitment to U.S.-based production strengthens our ability to meet urgent demands, improving the operational readiness of the U.S. Army and ensuring our forces have the reliable, state-of-the-art tools they need to succeed in any mission.

ED: This article by Ernie Chamberlain was copied over from our comments page. 

The Australian Army Official History relates that on 17 August 1966 the 1 ATF base at Núi Đất was shelled by VC forces – “the barrage began at 2.43 a.m. and continued for 22 minutes. … “. After the attack, sixty-seven 82 mm mortar bomb craters were counted, and even five [sic] craters for an artillery piece which on inspection turned out to be a 70 mm Japanese howitzer. It was also later discovered that 75 mm recoilless rifles had also been firing (ie 23 RCL rounds).” The Task Force artillery intelligence officer – Captain Jim Townley, related that the 70mm Japanese howitzer “was identified from an unexploded projectile found on the road outside the 1 Field Regiment Adjutant’s tent. The shell had gouged a rubber tree to which his tent was tied. The shell had failed to explode because the fuse had not been screwed completely in.” The 70mm shells fell in the southern section of the unit areas of the 103rd Artillery Battery (RAA) and the 161st Artillery Battery (RNZA).

The 70mm Type 92 howitzer had entered Japanese military service in 1932. Việt Cộng weaponry included a number of these obsolescent 70mm Japanese howitzers – some acquired in Vietnam after WWII and others provided by the Chinese during the Việt Minh war against the French. The Chinese continued to manufacture rounds suitable for the 70mm howitzer. COSVN – the Việt Cộng Headquarters, had produced a 74-page manual for the howitzer (“Hướng Xử Dựng Bộ Binh Pháo 70mm Nhật” .

While Vietnamese accounts relate the shelling of Núi Đất by 82mm mortars and 75mm RCLs on 17 August 1966 – by the VC D445 Battalion and/or by elements of the 275 VC Main Force Regiment, they do not mention the 70mm howitzer – which would have been allocated to the force from a higher echelon. The five 70mm shells were fired by an attached element – most likely from the Z-39 Artillery Battalion of Group 89 which had been noted earlier in the Xuyên Mộc area to the east of the Task Force in March 1966. At 1430hrs on 17 August – several hours after the shelling, HQ 1 ATF received an agent report from the Vietnamese Sector Headquarters in Bà Rịa Town that a “possible VC battalion having two guns with wheels” was located five kilometres east of Núi Đất and moving to the south-east.”

The 70mm howitzer’s firing location was deduced by the artillery headquarters staff at 1 ATF – but not confirmed, as being 2.4 km east of the impact area which was on the southern edge of the Task Force area. The effective range of the Type 92 70mm Japanese Howitzer was 2,785 metres. The 70mm howitzer was later phased out of the Việt Cộng artillery inventory in preference to the far lighter – and more effective, 82mm mortar.

A complimentary 13-page Research Note 6A on the shelling – with photographs and map, is available by email from [email protected]

Museum Assistant Manager, Jason, gives us a tour of our Aussie OTO-Melara Mod 56 105mm Pack Howitzer

The U.S. Navy has strategically sent a submarine to the South China Sea, a region already fraught with tension due to territorial disputes, especially with China. This video breaks down the significance of this move, its implications for global military balance, and how it heightens the already sensitive relationship between the U.S. and China. Watch as we delve into what this manoeuvre means for international relations and why it matters for the future of global security.