By Robbin Laird FLRAA is coming at the dawn of the age of autonomous systems. It is being crafted as a manned program to operate in the con-ops of formations that will operate in the world of combined arms operations of manned systems working with autonomous ones. The Army approach…
By Robbin Laird The Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) or the Army’s new tiltrotor aircraft is being designed to operate in a new world of combat, namely one in which autonomous systems will become significant players. I would argue indeed that when introducing new manned systems now and in the…
By Robbin Laird I have returned from Australia and the latest Sir Richard Willians seminar. In that seminar, we dealt with the challenge of how to enhance the ready force while investing in the future force. The modernization of the ADF is a case study in the clash between force…
By Robbin Laird The Marines assisted in relief efforts in the Philippines after a Typhoon hit that country. And as has been done in the past, the dynamic duo of the KC-130J and the Osprey provided the means to do so. As Capt Mark McDonough noted in a 14 October…
By Robbin Laird I had a chance to follow up with Jennifer Parker on her excellent presentation at the 26 September 2024 Sir Richard Williams seminar which focused on the evolving threat environments in the littorals and insights to be gained from operations in the Black Sea, Red Sea and…
The September 26, 2024 Sir Richard Williams Foundation focused on accelerating the capabilities of the ready force. Defence industry in Australia is obviously a key player in the ability for the government to find ways to enhance the ready force. A panel of six industrial representatives discussed this challenge lead…
Some time ago – more than a decade – I worked with Alan Dupas, the noted French space expert, on a project for a European space company on the future of space in 2020. We focused on the key point that although a space company was most closely identified with…
By Robbin Laird The strategic environment has clearly changed and the level of real world conflict has escalated, whether in terms of major hot wars – in the Middle East and in Europe – or in terms of active gray zone conflicts. The ready force needs to deal with this…
