Links - Australian Defence

Effective public debate on defence and wider national security issues is greatly strengthened by a balance of informed views being widely available and an effective interplay of these views occurring. A range of inputs from defence force professional institutions (such as the Service think-tanks listed below), departmental policy staffs, academic think-tanks, political parties, independent public interest watchdogs (such as the ADA), and interested and motivated individuals, all help ensure that analysis and discussion of Australia's strategic situation benefits from a diversity of informed views.

This list of website links is provided to assist with research on Australian defence and wider national security issues. The inclusion of a link to another organisation below does not necessarily indicate or imply endorsement of that organisation, or the accuracy of its information, by the Australia Defence Association. This list does not pretend to be complete. If you wish to suggest further sites, please send us an email.

	Department of Defence This is the website of Australia's Department of Defence. It includes links to each of the Services, ministerial and departmental press releases, extensive photo libraries and much more. You can follow the internal links or go directly to the Navy, Army and Air Force professional 'think-tanks': RAN Sea Power Centre ; Land Warfare Studies Centre, and RAAF Air Power Development Centre.
	Australian Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade The JSCFADT has sub-committees which provide all-party parliamentary oversight of foreign affairs, defence, trade and human rights issues, and oversight of government policy and machinery-of-government processes and activities in these regards. The committee's website covers its current work (including written and oral submissions to inquiries from members of the public) and past reports to parliament on completed inquiries.
	Australian Strategic Policy Institute (Canberra) ASPI is a Canberra-based and largely Defence Department-funded strategic policy institute run under the auspices of an independent governing council appointed by the Australian Government. The institute has generally contributed a beneficial and fresh approach to the independent review of strategic and defence policy, especially in the absence of much vibrant academic input from the university-based think-tanks since the late 1990s. ASPI reports are now thorough and objective but in the Institute's early years some exhibited biases towards the outlook, methods and solutions favoured by traditional civilian bureaucratic elements of the Department of Defence.
	Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (Canberra) SDSC is located in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra. SDSC was in slow and steady decline throughout the 1990s and early 2000s but is now showing some signs of intellectual recovery. SDSC is also involved with the respected post-graduate programs in strategic and defence studies run by ANU.
	Future Directions International (Perth) FDI is a commercially and philanthropically-funded think-tank located in Perth, Western Australia, with some associations with the five Western Australian universities. It seeks to provide independent strategic advice on Australia's global interests. In practice this tends to focus on economic, commercial, environmental and resource issues, many with a Western Australian connection, rather than national defence matters specifically although it does provide good coverage of Indian Ocean security developments.
	UNSW Defence Studies Forum (Canberra) The UNSW Defence Studies Forum is located at University College of the University of New South Wales (at the Australian Defence Force Academy) in Canberra. From 1987 to early 2004 the forum was known as the Australian Defence Studies Centre (ADSC). The ADSC's publications and activities were highly respected by the defence force and the wider defence studies academic and professional communities. The Forum is a considerably scaled-back operation from the Centre but continues to be involved with the extensive and widely respected post-graduate programs in defence studies run by UNSW at the Academy.
	Air Power Australia This website seeks to promote the contribution of air power to the defence of Australia and to stimulate public and parliamentary debate on air power topics.
	Thales Australia The website of Australia's major defence manufacturer.
	BAE Systems Australia The website of Australia's largest defence contractor.
	Rumour Control Information on Australian defence developments maintained by a journalist who specialises in defence industry issues
	Australian Diggers An extensive privately developed site devoted to the ordinary Australian soldier.
	Janes Defence Publications Search from this page for what you want. You may have to pay.
	UK Ministry of Defence A good starting point for a wide range of British defence and security links.
	US Department of Defense A good initial link to the US defence world.
	US and Other Military A good starting point for exploring the US defence world.
	US Information Service page Lots of up-to-date official statements.
	Conference of Defence Associations Institute (Canada) The CDAI is the approximate Canadian equivalent of the ADA although it is predominantly ex-Service based and also incorporates some cross-organisation co-ordination functions undertaken in Australia by the RSL. The ADA and CDAI keep in regular contact because both countries often share similar strategic and political challenges. This website also provides a useful opening into a range of other Canadian sites covering defence issues.
	United Kingdom National Defence Association The UKNDA was set up in 2007 to be a public-interest guardian organisation with similar aims to the ADA.
	Singapore Armed Forces Good material on Singapore's defence policy and capabilities.
	Defence Data Ltd Extensive coverage of up-to-the-minute defence news from around the world.
	Defense Web Useful data including regular updates on mainly US defence issues.
	Naval Technology a generic web site for the naval defence industry. Site includes news on current projects and developments, an equipment, products and services guide, exhibition and conference listings, an industry associations' directory, as well as a comprehensive links page to many international government and non-government defence resources. Go here for the army equivalent and here for the air force version.
	Defense-Aerospace A large digest of defence-related information.
	More aircraft Search engine for military aviation topics.
	Military Aircraft Database Net-based military aviation encyclopedia.
	US missiles Good material on a wide range of American missiles with links to other missile data.
	Australia - New Zealand Military Impostors This website seeks to discourage, and if necessary expose, Australians and New Zealanders who masquerade as war veterans despite having no operational service experience.