Last week saw the release of both the National Defence Strategy and the associated Integrated Investment Plan. Rather than squabbling over the amount - there is a genuine, if small, increase in funding - people should be asking how much additional capability will this buy. The answer is, probably not enough, though more on drones is undoubtedly a good thing.

Speaking at the National Press Club, Defence Minister Richard Marles proved again how out of touch he is by claiming that the US is still a dependable ally and that the international rules based order is still in place when clearly it is not. People can see this daily with their own eyes.

He also repeated the falsehood that the government is spending record amounts on Defence. This is untrue. We are currently at 2.08% of GDP. In 1981-82 the fraction of GDP was 2.4% rising to 2.6% three years later. During the Vietnam War it was over 3%.

Can people please start holding Ministers to account for this absolute, provable, factually incorrect nonsense.

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Events in the Middle East continue to evolve in rapid and unexpected directions. Following the failure of peace talks in Pakistan between the US and Iran, the US is now hoping to open the Strait of Hormuz by blockading it.

In the short term, the fuel crisis in Australia may get worse before it gets better - not that you would know that by looking at the amount of jet fuel being burnt up by our PM and Defence Minister.

Speaking of which, a new National Defence Strategy will be released this week. It is likely to be dead on arrival because it has been written by people who refuse to accept that the world is changing and that the US is no longer a reliable ally.

Finally - what does this government have against South Korea, which is the largest supplier of petroleum to us, along with Singapore? Why are they being ignored in the current flurry of high level diplomatic activity?

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Enough of Donald Trump already! We can't avoid him completely but there's a lot more to talk about, including the visit of German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius - and what a breath of fresh air he is. He has called the US attacks on Iran a mistake and is worried about declining US support for Ukraine. He speaks honestly and clearly - unlike our own politicians.

Next was a seminar organised by Malcolm Turnbull on sovereign self reliance - and the general conclusion was that AUKUS is on shaky ground. Next - our question for the week: what hasn't happened? Contract signature for SEA 3000 which the government insisted would be signed by the end of March.

Finally, 2 very positive local industry stories - a visit to BAE Systems at Osborn to look at Hunter class frigates and discussions with Penske Automotive about support for military diesel engines, where we have achieved self-sufficiency.

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The situation in the Middle East risks spiralling out of control with Donald Trump threatening to destroy Iran's electricity grid and that country saying it will retaliate by targeting water desalination plants throughout the region.

Australia will not send a warship to the region at the moment, even if one were available, because the nature of warfare is being radically altered.

The information about the ship was provided to the public by Transport Minister Catherine King because the PM, Defence Minister and Foreign Minister were all too scared to say anything that might displease the US.

Our government's slavish attachment to Washington continues. Australia needs to seriously consider the possibility of being inadvertently drawn into committing war crimes.

We conclude with some very wise words from retired AVM John Blackburn, who says AUKUS is a waste of money and should be scrapped.

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We discuss the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and Australia's reasons for jumping in so quickly in support of the US.

But first some words on yet another assault on transparency by the government scrapping the ANAO's annual review of major Defence projects. Ministers Marles and Conroy will be delighted that an important source of scrutiny has been removed - as will the Defence bureaucracy.

As for sending a Wedgetail and AMRAAMs to the UAE, it looks like the government was spooked by a 1am Truth Social post by President $Trump - this move by an Australian Prime Minister previously proud of the ALP's 2003 decision not to support the US invasion of Iraq.

As for the current air campaign against Iran - it could get much worse and it's not at all clear that the government has thought this through.

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The unrelenting aerial bombardment of Iran by the US and Israel continues - with no known end point. Israel would probably like to keep attacking forever and in the case of the US, it might stop when President Trump gets bored. Gulf states have called for assistance from a number of countries to counter Iran's aerial attacks, including Australia. The sad reality is that with an annual Defence budget of almost $60 billion there's not a lot we can send. Army has a good ground based system called NASAMS but it's not optimised for this sort of conflict - and there are likely to be major problems with the resupply of the main weapon it uses, the AIM-120 AMRAAM.

In the meantime, South Korea has signed a huge defence technology cooperation agreement with the UAE. This could have been Australia but we are too slow, too dim and too obsessed with the US to take advantage of numerous offers that have been made.

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We have to start with the US and Israeli bombings of Iran, even though they have little direct relevance for Australia.

The chances of the US achieving regime change is unlikely, no matter how many clerics are killed. Unless the US and Israel have been secretly arming rebel groups within the country, calls for protests will only lead to the deaths of even more innocent civilians.

In Australia, the RN Astute class SSN, HMS Anson, arrived at HMAS Stirling for repairs. The government claims this meets a major AUKUS milestone.

No it doesn't - it is proof of how desperate the UK is for our cash.

Speaking of cash - Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy is in the UK to hand over $310 million to Rolls Royce for some nuclear reactor long lead time items. That money should be spent on Australian engineering companies which have the ability to manufacture the required items right here.

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This episode marks the 4th anniversary of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, which shows no sign of ending. Australia is providing some help - but not nearly enough.

The international environment remains chaotic - and we pose the difficult question: if Australian governments are incapable of introducing a digital passenger arrival card, what hope is there that we will ever be able to build a nuclear-powered submarine?

Donald $Trump's tariff war with the world continues and Australia has now been hit with a 15% rate, which of course will be met with earnest expressions of concern rather than a meaningful response. If you think Trump's aim of acquiring Greenland is over, think again

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