I have noticed in the past that some posters on this forum appear to be quite informed about defence matters. With that in mind, I thought I would ask about some news snippets I have seen in the last week or so, mainly on ABC-1 or 24. I hope this is acceptable in this forum, as (without speculation) some of these things may have implications for Metal Storm deployment in the medium term. Please advise if I should re-direct to a different forum.
1. On Insiders last Sunday, Afghanistan was being discussed and competent Canberra journalist Fran Kelly mentioned in passing that there was a current billion dollar spend 'in the wings' on new gear for the ADF. Evidently this was known to the other panellists, as no-one asked for details. I'm not suggesting her comment was news, but perhaps someone could educate me about the known scope (if anything) of this matter?
2. On Lateline Monday night an overseas anti-terrorism expert (I missed his name) claimed there would be 30-50 Al Quaeda personnel 'max' on the ground in Afghanistan i.e. they have moved on since the old 9/11 days. This guy looked and sounded like he was on location and informed, and his point was in the context of the real need to hang around in Afghanistan. In the same interview, it was stated 2nd hand that US General Petraeus was potentially more interested in Yemen, Somalia, and Iran. Again, I'm not debating what Petraeus says, but merely noting the obvious that even as Afghanistan may wind down militarily in future, there is sure to be other conflicts always cropping up, and presumably MST technology is an absolute given for demand in the field.
Add to My Watchlist
What is My Watchlist?