The latest Williams Seminar held in Canberra on April 11, 2019 focused on the strategic shift for Australia within the context of the evolving global situation. Facing the rising challenges posed by the 21stcentury authoritarian states, and by the changing nature of alliances in the Pacific and in Europe, Australia…
By Robbin Laird The Australian Defence Force (ADF) shaped a joint force which was able to self-deploy to the Middle East. With the RAAF's new force package of advanced tanker, the C-17 and Wedgetail, the ADF experienced a joint capability which it had not had before, one which was featured…
According to a press release from BAE Systems Australia, the company is working with the Commonwealth of Australia to work supply chain innovations with regard to the F-35. Given Australia's role in regional support for the aircraft, this is an especially important effort. BAE Systems Australia and the Advanced Manufacturing…
The decision by the current Australian government to co-develop a new class of attack submarines with the French Naval Group will not deliver the replacement submarines until well into the next decade. This clearly creates what one might call a submarine "gap." Given that attack submarines are the key current…
By Robbin Laird Recently, I visited New River to talk with the team doing the Log Demo in support of the CH-53K. A decade ago I visited the Osprey maintainers standing up the Osprey at New River as well. I have republished a number of those interviews from a decade…
By Robbin Laird During my visit to 2ndMAW in January 2019, I had a chance to talk with the Commanding Officer of MAG-26, Colonel Boniface. I have had the opportunity to talk with Chris Boniface several times since we first met at the Bold Alligator exercises almost a decade ago.…
By Robbin Laird A decade ago I was present at the creation of the Osprey nation and did many interviews and visits as the aircraft was stood up and supported in operations. It was such a different aircraft from the CH-46 that the maintainers with whom I met a decade…
By Robbin Laird With the coming of software upgradeable aircraft which have health management systems built in, there is a strategic opportunity or better put, a strategic imperative, to leverage those systems to gain knowledge and mastery of a combat fleet. The opportunity is there to gain predictive knowledge about…
