The Defence Strategy program focuses on Australia’s strategic policy settings and security environment, the development of the Australian Defence Force’s defence capabilities and issues around defence funding and budgets. Over the years, ASPI has made nationally recognised contributions in all of these areas, and continues to do so, even as it has expanded to embrace new programs and responsibilities.

The program’s core research priorities are:

• military capability
• defence technology and industry
• defence expenditure
• alliance cooperation
• Australia’s defence and security partnerships
• Indo-Pacific security dynamics and threat environment
• deterrence, including nuclear and conventional weapons, and Australia’s deterrence by denial strategy.

The program also publishes the widely cited Cost of Defence and convenes ASPI’s annual defence conference.