How do you stay composed when your aircraft is struck by a surface-to-air missile over enemy territory, your hydraulics fail, and you're staring down at the city of Baghdad? For Colonel (Ret'd) Kim Campbell, the answer wasn't luck – it was 24 years of rigorous training, a "lead with courage" mindset, and the redundant, rugged engineering of the A-10 Warthog.

In this gripping episode, Tash Taylor sits down with one of the United States Air Force's most courageous pilots to recount the harrowing mission on 7 April 2003 that earned her the Distinguished Flying Cross. Kim shares the split-second decision making required to fly a manual "cranks and pulleys" system for an hour-long flight back to safety, proving that while the jet doesn't know your gender, it certainly knows your competence.

Beyond the cockpit, Kim discusses the transition from fighter pilot to high-level leader at the Pentagon and the Air Force Academy. She opens up about the "juggling act" of military motherhood and the importance of authentic connection – including a heartwarming story of her three-year-old crashing a formal military ceremony.

The Progress Report. New voices. Real stories. Big shifts.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Progress Report team

The AUKUS partnership represents one of the most ambitious defence industrial undertakings in modern history, and in this episode, host Steve Kuper is joined by Chris Waywell, Rob Sansbury and Robert Fogel of Stantec Australia to explore what it will really take to make it work.

While public attention has largely focused on the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, our panel argues that the true measure of success lies deeper – within the complementary infrastructure and industrial ecosystems required to enable, sustain and secure these capabilities over decades.

For Australia, this is nothing short of a generational shift. Building a nuclear-ready enterprise demands far more than platforms. It requires significant investment in shipyards, robust regulatory and safety frameworks, and, critically, a highly skilled workforce. From engineers and nuclear specialists to project managers and trades, the human element will ultimately define the pace, resilience and credibility of delivery.

The discussion also turns to the broader AUKUS partnership, with the United Kingdom and the United States needing to expand and adapt their own industrial bases to support a truly trilateral model. Increasing production capacity, harmonising standards and streamlining technology transfer will be essential, as interoperability evolves from an operational concept into an industrial necessity.

Layered over this is the challenge of sovereign resilience. Secure, diversified supply chains and deeper collaboration across industry, academia and allied partners will be key to building enduring capability.

This is a long-term endeavour. As the panel highlights, sustained commitment across political and economic cycles will be vital if AUKUS is to fulfil its potential – catalysing advanced manufacturing, boosting national productivity and underpinning a new era of strategic industry.

In this episode, we examine how building the backbone of AUKUS will ultimately determine whether the partnership delivers on its promise.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect Spotlight team

Australia has long prided itself on being the "Lucky Country", celebrating a culture of "she'll be right" now that a national culture of apathy is biting at home as the world continues to burn.

As the war in the Middle East continues to rage by the day, Australia and Australians are beginning to feel the very real ramifications in our daily lives.

All of this comes as Australia's political leaders and policymakers continue to point fingers at one another for the respective failures over the past three decades that have all combined to leave Australia dangerously exposed to the shocks of the new multipolar world.

But these aren't the only challenges that are serving to leave Australia in a volatile, unpredictable position, as social cohesion, industrial and economic resilience and demographics combine to create a powder keg for both the public and its policymakers.

Host Steve Kuper is joined by Ben Dullroy of Beaten Zone Venture Partners and Bravo Delta Advisory as they break down the combination of global and domestic factors shaping the nation's resilience, stability and security.

This conversation comes at a time when the public and private debate continues about who has failed the nation, were the ultimate costs of neoliberal hyperglobalisation worth it and can we pivot quickly enough to secure our economic, political and strategic interests?

Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team