The Evolution of the Indo-Pacific Over the Next Five Years: Implications for Australian Defense

10/13/2019
By Robbin Laird Recently, I attended the Chief of the Royal Australian Navy’s Seapower conference being held in Sydney from October 8th through the 10th, 2019. The conference provided insights into two major questions: What is the development trajectory of the Royal Australian Navy over the decade ahead? And what…

The Australian Approach to Developing and Deploying Remotes Systems in the Maritime Environment: The Perspective of Cmdr. Paul Hornsby

10/12/2019
By Robbin Laird Recently, I attended the Chief of the Royal Australian Navy’s Seapower conference being held in Sydney from October 8th through the 10th, 2019. One of the sessions which I attended was a presentation by Cmdr. Paul Hornsby, Royal Australian Navy lead on autonomous warfare systems. The presentation…

Shaping an Enhanced Japanese-Australian Military Alliance: The First Joint Air Exercise

10/12/2019
With Exercise Bushido Guardian, the Royal Australian Air Force has conducted its first joint air exercise with the Japanese. The exercise is part of the expanded working relationship in defense agreed upon in 2017. The opening of the exercise was highlighted in an article by Corporal Vevornica O'Hara published on…

In the Footsteps of Admiral Nimitz: VADM Miller and His Team Focused on 21st Century “Training”

10/12/2019
By Robbin Laird As Admiral Nimitz confronted the last century’s challenges in the Pacific, he concluded a core lesson for this century’s Pacific warriors: “Having confronted the Imperial Japanese Navy’s skill, energy, persistence, and courage, Nimitz identified the key to victory: ‘training, TRAINING and M-O-R-E  T-R-A-I-N-I-N-G.’ as quoted in Neptunes’s…

The Requirements of Fifth Generation Manoeuvre: October 24, 2019 Williams Foundation Seminar

10/11/2019
On October 24, 2019, the Williams Foundation will host its next seminar on building an integrated fifth generation force. This seminar will be held in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra from 0800 through 1530. Since 2013 the Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminars have focused on building an integrated…

In the Rebuild of the Australian Navy: The Government Looks to Key Role for Industrial Partnerships

10/09/2019
By Robbin Laird As I have argued earlier that the rebuild of the Australian Navy is not just a whole of government effort but a whole of society effort, if it is to succeed. The Australian Chief of the Navy, Vice Admiral Mike Noonan, emphasized in his presentation in the…

The First Rafale Transferred to the Indian Air Force: October 8, 2019

10/08/2019
By Pierre Tran Paris - Dassault Aviation played the host for an Oct. 8 ceremony for hand over of the first Rafale fighter jet to India, signaling a close military and industrial tie France seeks to deepen amidst stiff competition from Israel, Russia and the U.S. The presence of Indian…

Chief of the Royal Australian Navy at the RAN Sea Power Conference 2019

10/08/2019
Second Line of Defense is attending the Chief of Navy's Seapower Conference 2019 being held in Sydney, Australia from October 8-10 2019, We will have a number of stories generated from our participation. A key aspect being highlighted by both the new Australian government and the Royal Australian Navy is…