{"podcast":{"title":"Asia Pacific Defence Reporter","slug":"asia-pacific-defence-reporter-6383527","podcast_index_feed_id":6383527,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6461aa4dcd2b40001119e5eb","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/asia-pacific-defence-reporter","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6461aa4dcd2b40001119e5eb/1684198081627-7712deed25df6e09bfce1eb0c3174cad.jpeg","author":"Marilyn Butler","episode_count":148,"summary":"These podcasts are a way of shedding a bit more light on Defence decisions – particularly acquisitions – because the system has become secretive and taxpayers have a right to know what’s going on. But it’s even worse than that with Defence sometimes putting out information that is misleading and in some cases plain wrong. We discuss the Defence Strategic Review and debunk the claims that it is some sort of radical and positive move. No it is not. We also have a few words about the outrageous decision to purchase the SURTASS towed array sonar via FMS and preview the ANAO report into the Hunter class frigate program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-16T12:20:58.950355+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/asia-pacific-defence-reporter-6383527"},"episode":{"title":"Episode 142","slug":"episode-142","published_at":"2026-06-10T00:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/asia-pacific-defence-reporter-6383527/episode-142","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/asia-pacific-defence-reporter-6383527","url":"https://asiapacificdefencereporter.com","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6461aa4dcd2b40001119e5eb/e/6a28a0ad401089d02deb1917/media.mp3","summary":"There has been more news about AUKUS Pillar One and the developing story that Australia will no longer receive two second hand and one new Virginia class submarine from the US - as had been previously promised. The government is all over the shop, claiming that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz somehow justifies the acquisition of SSNs. No it doesn't - submarines are almost completely useless in the current scenario because you can't use them for clearing minefields or shooting down swarms of drones. Under the original deal the new submarine was to be a Block VII Virginia, delivered in 2038. Block VII is much more powerful than the second hand Block IV.s They will carry 40 Tomahawk surface attack cruise missiles, compared with 12 for a Block IV. They will also have features for protecting undersea cables and launching a variety of uncrewed systems. Put simply, a Block VII is a far more powerful, modern, deterrent than Block IV. Any official who says Block IVs are preferred because they are cheaper to maintain - even though they cannot say how much cheaper - should be sacked. A single Block VII carries as many Tomahawks as three and a half Block IVs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"There has been more news about AUKUS Pillar One and the developing story that Australia will no longer receive two second hand and one new Virginia class…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1193,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/asia-pacific-defence-reporter-6383527/episodes/episode-142/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/asia-pacific-defence-reporter-6383527/episode-142.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}