Hormuz, Saronic's Corsair, and the Middle Powers "distraction"

In this News Review episode, Grant McHerron, Ewen Levick and Kirra Davey review and discuss some of the news of interest that's occurred recently in the world of Defence.

We open with a discussion of the Hormuz Strait being closed once again which leads to the topic of Uncrewed Surface Vessels being used as weapons, indicating a new phase of naval warfare is beginning. This segways into a discussion about Saronic's Corsair USV which is currently being pitched to our Navy. The Corsair has recently been in the news as one was used to rescue the crew of an Apache that had crashed into the water, then a few weeks later a team of Corsairs were used to destroy an Iranian midget submarine that was docked in harbour.

Next up is a discussion on Elbridge Colby's recent set of tweets calling the "Middle Powers" strategy a distraction and stating that the USA are "flexible realists." We note that the countries in question are the realists who are reacting to the USA becoming a less reliable ally, discussing the geopolitical situation and the factors that are driving the rise of the middle powers concept.

We wrap with a quick look at Exercise Pitch Black 2026 which is starting flight operations with multiple nations bringing aircraft, aircrew and support teams, some of which will be appearing for the first time this year.

Links:

Saronic pitches Corsair USV to the ADF

https://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/saronic-pitches-corsair-usv-to-the-adf

Elbridge Colby's tweets on the “middle powers” strategy being a distraction

https://x.com/USWPColby/status/2077060564900077620

Exercise Pitch Black 2026 to commence flying

https://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/exercise-pitch-black-2026-to-commence-flying

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