Defence Strategic Review to be unveiled, with statement from Richard Marles

An unclassified version of the Defence Strategic Review, titled "National Defence" will be released after Minister for Defence Richard Marles received the report on February 14.

The 14-chapter document will comprise a statement on national defence by Minister Marles, the review and the Albanese government's response to recommendations made in the review.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the independent review of the defence force's structure and preparedness, as well as areas to be marked for further investment, in August 2022.

It was led by former defence force chief Angus Houston and former defence minister Stephen Smith after the 2020 Defence Strategic Update identified rapid changes in Australia's strategic environment.

A recommendation to strip back Australian Defence Force projects, including a reduction in the number of infantry fighting vehicles from 450 to 129 is expected to be revealed in the review.

Calls to expand or accelerate programs for medium- and heavy-landing craft, long-range missiles and mobile land-based missiles to strike maritime targets are also tipped to feature.

However, it says a second regiment of self-propelled howitzer artillery should be cancelled.

The review was foreshadowed by a change in defence posture to focus more on long-range strike capability and being able to combat and deter adversaries further from Australia's shores.

Mr Marles confirmed long-range missiles would become more important for Australia's defence strategy.

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He said Australia was dealing with a "very different world" compared to the landscape underpinning the Dibb Report in 1985-96, "which has really been the heart of our strategic posture since that time".

"(The Defence Strategic Review) is an incredibly important piece of work because what it seeks to do is really restate Australia's strategic posture for the first time in more than 35 years," he said.

One chapter of the review is known to specifically address funding issues and budget constraints, outlining that programs outstrip capacity by 24 per cent over the forward estimates.

It says new capability requirements coupled with demand for existing programs, as well as workforce pressures, means difficult decisions will need to be made.

Between the 2020 defence strategic update and the start of the review in August 2022, there were $42 billion worth of defence announcements over the decade to 2032-33 with no additional provisions in the budget.

The defence budget also had to contend with a $15 billion reduction in allocated spending over the same decade due to reallocations and efficiency dividends, according to the review.

Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie said the selection of recommendations that had been dribbled out so far were concerning.

While he was yet to see the review, he said the Australian Defence Force was "run into the ground" by the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd governments between 2007-2013.