Thunder Down Under: Deployment of B-52s to Australia angers China
China is reportedly quite upset that America’s oldest bomber is going to be making rotational tours in the “land down under.” Six American B-52 Stratofortresses will be assigned to an air base in northern Australia, a move many believe to be related to heightened tensions with the People’s Republic... Read more
Remember When Australia Pretend-Nuked a Rainforest?
This story originally appeared on Aug. 22, 2015. During the Cold War, nuclear states tested atomic weapons in almost every conceivable environment — deserts, oceans, space, islands. Scientist already knew nukes’ effects on cities. But how would they affect jungles? The Australian government wanted to know. So in July... Read more
During World War II, Australia Was Desperate for Submachine Guns
At the beginning of the World War II the Australian Army, much like the British Army, lacked a standard-issue submachine gun. Following Britain’s lead, in early 1941 Australia ordered a small number of Thompson submachine guns for trials purposes. The Australian military purchased 18,382 Thompson M1928A1s before deciding it... Read more
History’s Most Software-Dependent Warplane Hasn’t Been Properly Cyber-Tested
Prominent members of the Australian military establishment are worried — to say the least — about their country’s plan to acquire 72 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from the United States. That’s the subject of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s latest Background Briefing program: The man who until a year ago... Read more
Australian Wing Commander: Sell Us New F-22s
Retired Royal Australian Air Force wing commander Chris Mills doesn’t like the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that Canberra is buying from the United States. Noting the new plane’s sluggishness and poor results in simulated air combat against the latest Russian fighters, Mills has called for Australia to lobby... Read more
Yes, Australia Still Needs Nukes
In the wake of our recommendation that the United States revise its interpretation of Australia’s nuclear rights under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT, three Australian defense academics — Michael Clarke, Stephan Frühling and Andrew O’Neil — have responded to the strategic elements of our article. Their critique is... Read more
The Owen Was One Weird Submachine Gun
Originally published on May 20, 2015. If there were a contest for the weirdest and wackiest-looking submachine gun of World War II, Australia’s Owen would win hands-down. It looks as if the designer cobbled it together from mismatched pieces of plumbing. Rather than a parkerized finish, the factory painted... Read more

Paul Richard Huard

Contributing Writer

Military historian, free-lance journalist, and contributor to War Is Boring. Areas of expertise: American military history, the Cold War, Russia and the Soviet Union, military small arms.