Meanwhile, in the world of defence procurement, apparently Kevin Rudd seems to think we need more “high-end capabilities”, notably naval and air capabilities, to deal with the military risks posed by the buildup of arms throughout Asia. Paul Dibb agrees, and gets a plug in for the good old defence of Australia doctrine. How much this is going to cost is of course left open…

Finally, Liberal backbencher, former defence scientist, and noted global warming denialist Dennis Jensen has heard on the grapevine that a “highly classified” computer simulation of combat between the F-35 fighter – Australia’s likely new combat jet sometime in the next decade – and Russian-built Sukhois was conducted last month in Hawaii. According to Jensen, the (simulated) F-35′s got “clubbed like seals”. For what it’s worth, while I remain concerned about whether the F-35 is up to the job, without details of how the simulation was conducted this information is all but useless.