Ensuring Australian Resilience: Effective Weapon System Sustainment in an Era of Contested Logistics

In a large-scale combat operation, sustainment and logistics are critical to operational readiness—yet both are often treated as secondary concerns in defense planning. Allies and partners can play an important role in addressing these challenges, and Australia is particularly well positioned to do so given its geography, industrial capabilities, and longstanding defense relationship with the United States.  

This conversation will examine how the Australian Department of Defence can strengthen national preparedness, build industrial resilience across the Indo-Pacific, and expand its capacity to repair and sustain both domestic and foreign weapon systems. This discussion will also explore how Australia can mitigate supply chain risk and contribute to the joint fight.  

Please join the CSIS Center for the Industrial Base for an event featuring Belinda Templeman, Minister-Counsellor for Defence Materiel at the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C. and Assistant Secretary for Australia’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group; VADM (Ret.) Dion D. English, former Director for Logistics, U.S. Joint Staff; and Dak Hardwick, Vice President of International Affairs at the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). The panel will be moderated by Cynthia Cook, Senior Fellow in the CSIS Defense and Security Department. 

This event is made possible by Australia's Department of Defence.