By Robbin Laird I have been coming to Australia since 2014 and writing the seminar reports for the Sir Richard Williams Foundation bi-annual seminar reports. I have done so because of my deep commitment to the U.S.-Australian relationship but more generally because of my concern with the rise of multi-polar…
Recently, the Polish Foreign Minister argued that Putin had awaken a sleeping giant in terms of European defense efforts. The commitment to 5% defense spending inclusive of 1 and 1/2 percent of GNP on defence related infrastructure will raise a number of analytical questions of who does what with what…
Ukraine's defense of its homeland has demonstrated a remarkable evolution in modern military strategy, showcasing how a defending nation can leverage both established military doctrine and cutting-edge innovation to counter a numerically superior adversary. The Ukrainian approach represents a new paradigm in what we might call a hybrid operational force…
By Robbin Laird The recent operations Midnight Hammer and Rising Lion represent the culmination of decades of strategic airpower investment, demonstrating how prescient weapons development from the early 2000s enabled decisive military options in 2025. However, these successes have exposed critical capacity limitations that require immediate attention to maintain credible…
By Pierre Tran Le Bourget, France - A long-simmering dispute between Airbus and Dassault Aviation on the share of high-value work on a planned European fighter jet boiled over at the 2025 Paris air show, which opened June 16 with a summer heatwave warming the tarmac. The June 21 U.S.…
By Debalina Ghoshal Modern warfare operates in an increasingly contested environment where adversaries possess not only advanced weapon systems but also sophisticated cyber capabilities that can disrupt critical defense technologies. The complexity of contemporary missile defense systems requires seamless integration between multiple subsystems and the main weapon platform. As demonstrated…
While Taiwan tensions are often viewed through a U.S.-China lens, the gravest strategic consequences would fall on Japan and the Philippines. Chinese control of Taiwan would fundamentally alter the regional balance, potentially isolating both nations and forcing them into accommodation with Chinese regional dominance regardless of U.S. positions. Taiwan's location…
By Robbin Laird In late 2020, Murielle Delaporte and I published our book entitled: The Return of Direct Defense in Europe: Meeting the Challenge of XXIst Century Authoritarian Powers. A major emphasis in that book was that the broad challenge was inclusive of European infrastructure and the clear need for…
