By Robbin Laird The kill web concept, which Ed Timperlake and I have been developing and writing about for more than a decade, is fundamentally about replacing the linear kill chain with a distributed, interactive combat architecture. Rather than sequencing effects through a fixed hierarchy of platforms, the kill web…
History rarely offers the same strategic irony twice. In 1805, a small detachment of U.S. Marines marched out of Alexandria across the North African desert to put steel on the “shores of Tripoli,” breaking the grip of Barbary pirates who believed they could hold American commerce and citizens hostage at…
By Robbin Laird The destruction of the IRIS Shahid Bagheri by U.S. Central Command strikes removed from the Iranian order of battle one of the most conceptually significant vessels in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy's inventory. The ship was not a blue-water combatant in the conventional sense. It carried…
By Robbin Laird In 2025, four significant books emerged that collectively chronicle the transformation of airpower from its industrial-age roots to its current form as a networked, information-centric enterprise. These volumes, Training for The High-End Fight: The Paradigm Shift in Combat Pilot Training, Remembering the B-17 and Its Role in…
By Robbin Laird For generations, military aviation followed a familiar rhythm. Crises escalated in predictable sequences. Training focused on perfecting physical flying skills. Pilots mastered their aircraft through countless hours of stick-and-rudder practice, building muscle memory that would serve them throughout their careers. That era, according to defense experts examining…
By Robbin Laird The traditional architecture of naval power centered on capital ships projecting force through manned platforms is approaching obsolescence. Western navies stand at an inflection point where incremental adaptation will no longer suffice. The emergence, proliferation, and rapid development of maritime autonomous systems (MAS) demands nothing less than…
By Robbin Laird While finalizing my book to be published later this year, The Lessons From the Drone Wars, I watched a fascinating Wall Street Journal video which highlighted how a drone command center in Ukraine was operating against the Russian aggressor. Throughout the video they showed calibrated attacks on…
By Robbin Laird The deepening partnership between the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) is increasingly at the center of Australia’s defense strategy for the Indo-Pacific. While recent commentary has emphasized the risks of deepened integration for Australian sovereignty, this narrative can underestimate the many advantages…
