By Robbin Laird At the recent Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar held on 30 March 2023, Air Marshal Harvey Smyth, the Deputy Commander Operations, presented a UK perspective of the challenges facing the UK and her allies in the contentious 2020’s. I first met Smyth when he was the head…
U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey aircraft, assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1), lands during a ground threat reaction drill, in support of Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course 2-23, at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, March 30, 2023. WTI is a seven-week training event hosted…
By Robbin Laird My colleague John Blackburn and I met with Air Vice-Marshal Darren Goldie, the Air Commander of the RAAF, in his office on 4 April 2023. One key element which we discussed was the growing significance of agile basing and operations as part of the evolving Australian deterrent…
U.S. Marines with Command, Control and Communication, Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1), board an MV-22B Osprey aircraft during an offensive air support exercise, part of Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) 2-23, at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, April 4, 2023. WTI is a seven-week training event…
By Robbin Laird The Williams Foundation seminar on deterrence held on 30 March 2023 provided a chance to think about the way ahead for Australian defence. The seminars started with the introduction of the F-35 as a forcing function into the ADF and the shaping of a joint force by…
With the Australian Army having been heavily invested in the Middle East land wars and working closely with the U.S. Army in those endeavours, what is role in the enhanced emphasis on the direct defense of Australia? Of course, each of the services and the joint force itself is facing…
U.S. Marine Corps CH-53K King Stallion helicopter assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, participates in an external lift training exercise during Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course 2-23 at Auxiliary Airfield II near Yuma, Arizona, March 28, 2023. According to the CO of MAWTS-1,…
By Robbin Laird As the joint force works was to distribute for enhanced survivability but integrated through C2/ISR strands, there is a new role for ground force mobility. One example of this was suggested in my interview in Copenhagen with a senior official with Weibel, the radar company and focused…
