• Ongoing diplomatic efforts by the incoming Trump administration to resolve the Russia–Ukraine war and the situation on the ground.
• The Boxing Day revelation of apparent sixth-generation fighter aircraft by the People’s Republic of China and Beijing’s ambitious ship commissioning schedule for 2025, which will dramatically reshape the balance of power.
• The implications of the incoming Trump administration on the global geopolitical and economic environment.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Defence Connect ADSTAR series, Dr Carolyn Patteson, Chief Science Strategic Planning & Engagement within the Defence Science and Technology Group, and DSTG’s Dr Mike Wilson sit down with host Liam Garman to discuss the unique opportunities that lie ahead for young Australians studying STEM.

Dr Patteson begins by unpacking her own employment history, and how a love of maths kick-started a career that spanned cyber security, cryptography and even modelling for traditional warfighting.

The podcast continues with Dr Wilson unpacking how Defence is engaging the next generation to encourage a career in STEM and showcase the exciting pathways that await them.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman discuss the fall of Bashar al-Assad and the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.

• They begin the podcast debating whether the unfolding Israel–Hamas conflict will have the same level of strategic significance for Israel as the Yom Kippur War or the Six-Day War.
• Tarrant, Thompson and Garman then discuss how the conflict has altered the balance of power in the Middle East, severing Iran’s crescent of influence by weakening Hamas and Hezbollah, coupled with the fall of Assad.
• They wrap up the podcast examining what nations, if any, might assume the role of a security benefactor in the Middle East with a weakened Iran, and emerging open-source intelligence (OSINT) collection vectors.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft take a look back at some of the biggest and most intriguing stories of the year, from CrowdStrike’s outage and amazing response to the takedown of ransomware giant LockBit.

• Croft kicks off with the epic story of the Change Healthcare hack, which saw the data of about a third of the population of the United States compromised. But it wasn’t just the scale of the hack; it was also the behind-the-scenes manoeuvering between greedy ransomware-as-a-service operators, hacker affiliates just wanting to get paid, and a company realising that it really does have to pay an exorbitant ransom.
• The pair then discuss the takedown of ransomware giant LockBit and the remarkably sassy response of the law enforcement agencies behind the operation, before looking back at another ransomware operation that turned out to be nothing but an extensive scam.
• Lastly, Croft and Hollingworth look back at July’s CrowdStrike outage, both its wide-ranging impact and what turned out to be an excellent and comprehensive response from CrowdStrike itself, before turning the gaze forward to wonder what they might see in 2025.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team

Understanding the dynamics of regional areas in Australia can offer lucrative opportunities for investors.

In this episode of the Defence Property Podcast, co-hosts Liam Garman and Discover Buyers Agency’s Kane Dury sit down with Morgan Oliver, director and sales agent of JMO Property Group, to unpack the ins and outs of property investment in the town of Gatton.

Gatton, in regional Queensland, is poised for economic growth with major infrastructure projects underway, such as a medium-security prison and a high-speed rail, creating thousands of stable government jobs, which the trio highlight as appealing for property investors.

The group also discusses how investors in the defence sector can focus on regional areas to grow their portfolio by buying property at each posting, leveraging grants like Home Purchase Assistance Scheme (HPAS) and Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme (DHOAS) to gain financial benefits, and then rent-vest to foster cash flow and long-term portfolio growth.

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by the newly confirmed federal president of the Navy League of Australia, Mark Schweikert, to discuss the proud history of the league in supporting the mission of the Royal Australian Navy.

The pair discuss the long-standing history of the Navy League and its earliest days supporting public interest in and engagement with the Royal Australian Navy dating back to its foundation in 1901.

They also discuss:

• The services the league provides to current and former naval personnel, including the opportunity to discuss and deliberate on the issues facing the nation’s sea power.
• The importance of the Royal Australian Navy and naval sea power for Australia and critical capabilities worth considering further development on, including fixed-wing naval aviation.
• The role the league plays in working with Defence and naval cadets to encourage more Australians into the Navy.
• Schweikert’s long history of association with the Navy and the league and his ambitions for the future of the league.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect Team

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the future of warfighting in the information domain.

• They begin the podcast unpacking major national security developments for 2024 and how global powers have continued to exploit the grey zone, before unpacking an absence of ownership of the information domain in Australia when examining the DIME construct – diplomacy, information, military, and economic.
• The trio then discuss Ukraine’s exploitation of the information environment, and how the modern battlefield nevertheless reflects the Clauswitzian notion that the nature of war never changes.
• Tarrant, Thompson and Garman then predict how the incoming US administration will impact the conflict.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, James Heading, director of Programs, Strategic Capabilities Office, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, joins host Liam Garman to provide an update on the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise (GWEO), and what the enterprise’s next steps might look like after the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) production.

• Heading and Garman begin the podcast looking at the Guided Weapons Production Capability Risk Reduction Activity and Strategic Partner Services contracts, and how they will build a robust and resilient supply chain to protect Australia’s national sovereignty.
• They then discuss the Lockheed Martin–Thales teaming agreement overseeing solid rocket motors and warheads, and how the GWEO’s success lies in leveraging partnerships from SMEs to academia and through to global primes.
• The pair wrap up the podcast discussing what the logical progression for GWEO is after achieving GMLRS production.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team