Air Marshal Robert Chipman on Shaping a Way Ahead for the RAAF within the Integrated Defence Force

10/05/2022
By Robbin Laird Air Marshal Robert Chipman has participated in Williams Seminars for many years. Initially, he appeared as part of the Plan Jericho leadership team, and the kind of innovation which that team focused upon for the RAAF has been a key element of his focus during his career.…

The Scene Setting for the Next Phase of ADF Development: The Williams Foundation Seminar, September 2022

10/01/2022
By Robbin Laird Research Fellow, The Williams Foundation Sydney, Australia The most recent Williams Foundation Seminar was held in Canberra, Australia on September 28, 2022. The seminar was entitled, “Enhancing the Lethality and Survivability of the Integrated Force.” The seminar in effect provided a scene setting for discussing the next…

Shaping a Way Ahead for the ADF: Air Marshal (Retired) Geoff Brown Provides His Perspective

09/30/2022
On September 28, 2022, the Sir Richard Williams Foundation held its latest seminar. The title of the seminar was “enhancing the lethality and survivability of the integrated force.” At the seminar, the three service chiefs as well as the head of defence design provided key contributions to framing answers to…

Shaping a Way Ahead for Maritime Autonomous Systems in the ADF: A Discussion with Commodore Darron Kavanagh

09/23/2022
By Robbin Laird At first blush, some readers would expect a title that focused on maritime autonomous systems to focus primarily upon their role within the Royal Australian Navy, rather than looking at the role within the overall ADF. But because these systems are entering the force as it works…

Shaping a Way Ahead for Remotely Piloted Air Systems: The Perspective of Wing Commander Keirin Joyce

09/22/2022
By Robbin Laird I have known Wing Commander Keirin Joyce for a number of years, and last spoke with him at length after he chaired last year’s Williams Foundation Seminar on Next Generation Autonomous Systems. During the seminar, he highlighted an example of how current forces can use new uncrewed…

Shaping a Way Ahead for the ADF: The Key Role of C2

09/21/2022
By Robbin Laird Enhancing C2 capabilities for the ADF in the near to midterm is a critical part of being able to deliver the kind of defense capabilities which Australia needs for its renewed focus on direct defense of Australia. During my current visit to Australia, I had a chance…

Where Does the CMV-22b Fit into U.S. Navy’s Evolving Concept of Operations?

09/19/2022
A great place to go to approach ways to answer that question is to visit The Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center or NAWDC which is best known to the public as “Top Gun.” When I last visited NAWDC in 2020 which I did twice in that year, it was very…

Enhancing U.S. Navy Fleet Capabilities: Reshaping the Approach to Sustaining the Force

09/08/2022
By Robbin Laird Recently, the U.S. navy's CNO Gilday underscored that fleet numbers are limited by the relatively limited defense industrial capacity in the United States. A clear challenge is to rebuild and enhance the "arsenal of democracy." “We have an industrial capacity that’s limited. In other words, we can…