By Robbin Laird
On June 3, 2025, I had a chance to meet with Air Vice-Marshal Glen Braz, Air Commander Australia, to follow up on his participation in the Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar held on May 23, 2025. What I specifically wanted to talk with him about is the key challenges facing training an air combat force which is fifth-generation enabled.
As I have described the F-35 in my work with the aircraft since 2004, the aircraft is a “flying combat system” which works in wolfpacks. Secretary Michael W. Wynne the architect of the concept of fifth generation airpower has focused on how these aircraft – F-22s and F-35s – operate as sensors identifying targets rather than shoot first fighter jets.
This has been part of driving significant change in how an integrated high-end air force operates in terms of shaping an end-to-end ecosystem that enables the various platforms to deliver effects as an integrated force.
Obviously, integration is a dynamic process, which changes as new capabilities are added to the force, and software upgrades come to the platforms within the air combat system taken as a whole.
How then to train pilots from the outset and then through their lifecycle as air warriors to work in such a dynamic system?
“This is not about me being the best F/A-18F pilot I can be,” Braz explains. “It’s about me being a contributor to an ecosystem that is a vast team that generates effects chains across the battle space.” This mindset shift represents perhaps the most significant challenge facing modern air force training systems.
The F-35, with its advanced sensor fusion and networking capabilities, operates fundamentally differently from traditional fighters. Rather than individual aircraft engaging in classic dogfights, fifth-generation platforms function as nodes in a broader network, sharing sensor data and coordinating effects across multiple domains. This “wolf pack” mentality requires pilots to understand not just their own aircraft’s capabilities, but how those capabilities integrate with ground-based systems, maritime platforms, space assets, and increasingly, autonomous systems.
The Training Bottleneck
Australia’s experience illustrates the complex interdependencies that make scaling modern air combat training so challenging. Braz describes what he calls the “temporal discipline model” – a carefully structured progression where pilots spend three to four years developing both platform proficiency and ecosystem integration skills during their initial operational tour.
The challenge isn’t simply producing more pilots. “If I uplift the numbers of aircrew, they’ve got to fly more. They’ve got to have more technicians to help them fly more. They’ve got to have more sustainment and sparing,” Braz notes. The entire system must scale proportionally, or imbalances emerge that can compromise the training pipeline’s effectiveness.
This reality forces difficult choices. In a resource-constrained environment, adding more pilots without corresponding increases in flying hours and training capacity can actually reduce the quality of training each individual receives. The result is a delicate balancing act between quantity and quality that has no easy solutions.
Synthetic Solutions
The answer, increasingly, lies in sophisticated synthetic training environments. Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) training systems are becoming essential tools for providing the complex, networked training scenarios that fifth-generation operations require.
“Our integrated advanced training environment and synthetic training environment becomes really important,” Braz emphasizes. These systems allow pilots to practice the “really difficult reps and sets” required to master fifth-generation operations without the prohibitive costs and logistical challenges of live training exercises.
The U.S. Air Force is investing heavily in high-fidelity synthetic training environments, but smaller air forces like Australia’s must find the right balance between capability and cost. The goal is to create systems that can integrate with allied training networks while remaining affordable for nations with more modest defense budgets.
The Software Variable
One of the most underappreciated aspects of modern air combat training is the challenge posed by continuous software upgrades. Unlike previous generations of military aircraft, fifth-generation platforms are essentially flying computers that receive regular capability updates throughout their service lives.
This creates a persistent training challenge: pilots and maintainers must continuously adapt to evolving capabilities, and training systems must account for aircraft operating at different software block levels within the same unit. The F-35’s block upgrades, for instance, can significantly alter the aircraft’s capabilities, sensor performance, and weapons integration options.
Force Integration Leadership
Australia has developed an innovative approach to this challenge through its Air Warfare Instructors Course, a highly selective program that runs every two years. This intensive six-month course produces what Braz calls “force integrators” – officers who become experts in air power integration and serve as leaders for the next generation of aviators.
These instructors play a crucial role in bridging the gap between platform-specific training and ecosystem-wide thinking. They help junior pilots understand that mastering their individual aircraft is just the foundation for operating in a networked, multi-domain environment.
The Maritime Dimension
For nations like Australia, the integration challenge extends beyond air-to-air combat to encompass maritime operations. “Air is intrinsically maritime capable,” Braz argues, pushing back against the tendency to view air and naval capabilities as separate domains.
The F-35’s sensor capabilities, combined with platforms like the MQ-4 Triton, create intelligence and targeting capabilities that are “highly sought after by our Navy counterparts.” This integration becomes even more important as autonomous maritime systems proliferate, creating new opportunities for air-sea coordination.
Looking Forward
The training challenges identified by Australia’s experience reflect broader issues facing air forces worldwide. The fundamental shift from platform-centric to network-centric operations requires new approaches to everything from initial pilot training to advanced tactical instruction.
The solution isn’t simply adopting new technology but rethinking the entire approach to air combat training.
This includes:
- Mindset transformation: Moving from individual excellence to ecosystem contribution.
- Synthetic integration: Leveraging virtual environments for complex, networked training scenarios.
- Continuous adaptation: Building training systems that can evolve with rapidly changing technology.
- Cross-domain thinking: Preparing aviators for multi-domain operations from the beginning of their careers.
The Bottom Line
As Air Vice-Marshal Braz’s insights make clear, the transition to fifth-generation air combat represents more than a technological upgrade — it’s a fundamental reimagining of how air power operates. Training systems developed for previous generations of aircraft are inadequate for preparing pilots to operate in networked, multi-domain environments.
The air forces that successfully navigate this transition will be those that embrace the complexity of ecosystem-wide training while finding practical, cost-effective solutions to the resource challenges it presents. Australia’s approach offers valuable lessons, but each nation must find its own path through this transformation.
Featured Image: (L-R) Commodore Training, Royal Australian Navy officer Commodore John Stavridis, CSC, RAN, talks with Air Commander Australia, Royal Australian Air Force officer Air Vice Marshal Glen Braz, AM, CSC, DSM, during the inaugural Australian Maritime Weapons and Tactics Conference at HMAS Watson in Sydney, New South Wales. May 9, 2025. Credit: Australian Department of Defence