Andrew Greene

The Australian Navy has been left with just one fully operational submarine as the rest of its aging fleet undergoes urgent repairs or await upgrades.

South Korea and Japan are emerging as the early favourites in a multi-billion-dollar competition to build Australia's new fleet of light frigates.

A $7 billion plan to create an Australian military-grade satellite communications system announced in April last year is facing cancellation as current defence spending is reviewed.

A highly vaunted push to "rapidly" develop disruptive military technologies into the Australian Defence Force is facing uncertainty, with local companies saying an initial project has been "cancelled".

Program: The World Today Presented by The Chief of Navy has given a strident defence of Australia's ageing submarine fleet, following revelations only one of the boats is currently fully operational.

Australia will begin building its next warships in either Germany or Japan after the government narrowed the field of designs for the navy's new

Australia has missed out in a bid to join Interpol's executive committee, with representatives from China and Qatar elected instead.

An Australian soldier who ran into enemy fire during the Vietnam War to reach a wounded comrade and retrieve the body of another will be awarded a Victoria Cross for bravery.

Program: The World Today Presented by The Governor General has announced the awarding of the Victoria Cross to a Vietnam War veteran at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Defence has been warned it's not doing enough to stamp out possible corruption around military contracts, with a former minister blasting departmental