By Robbin Laird In a period of global competition and conflict, the liberal democracies need to accelerate their capabilities to defend themselves and to find ways to enhance their deterrent capabilities not just for the long haul but in the short to mid-term. My recent visit to Australia, where I met…
By Robbin Laird During my September trip to Australia, I had a chance to sit down with the CEO of Penten, Matthew Wilson, along with my colleague John Blackburn, to discuss the role of Australia defence industry in direct defence of Australia. According to their website: “Penten is an Australian…
In a November 2, 2022 articled by the Australian Department of Defence, the cooperation between the A330MRTT air forces was highlighted. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) have signed an arrangement formalising their cooperation in air-to-air refuelling. Air Vice-Marshal Darren Goldie, AM,…
With a war raging in Ukraine and the threat of conflict over Taiwan, a shift from a peacetime mindset for the U.S. military and the defense ecosystem of the United States is crucial. I have just returned from Australia, where the government has launched a strategic review built around the…
By Robbin Laird The ADF faces a double challenge. First, there is the transition from the away game land wars to preparing forces for higher intensity operations against global authoritarian powers. I have written several books which address how challenging this shift is for a whole generation of warriors and…
The use of robots, unmanned systems, and automation of various kinds is of growing significance to providing logistical support to combat forces. During the 2021 Williams Foundation seminar on next generation autonomous systems, Col. David Beaumont, a noted ADF logistician and strategist, underscored the growing importance of such systems for…
By John Coyne Recently, ASPI researcher Albert Zhang shone a spotlight on a sophisticated Chinese Communist Party information campaign targeting rare earths and Australian company Lynas. This research has powerful implications for those policymakers seeking to create resilient supplies of rare-earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals. REEs are a group of 17…
By Gil Savage Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re more aware of the weaknesses of globalisation and the flaws of managing supply and demand through just-in-time practices. The problem is clear for Australia’s policymakers, but the solution less so. Some hanker for a return to 1970s-style Australian manufacturing, forgetting it…
