During the RAAF Airpower Conference, 2018, one key subject was the nature of the change geopolitical dynamics in the region and its implication for Australian and for its liberal democratic allies. The keynote address by Bilahari Kausikan Ambassador at Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore provided a challenging…
By Richard Weitz In think tank meetings and congressional hearings, the Trump administration have explained that its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) aligns with the general post-Cold War consensus that the United States will possess nuclear weapons that are safe, secure, and usable but never actually used. It follows all recent…
By Robbin Laird What is the Nature of the Military Transition to Deal with Peer Competitors in a period of Significant Strategic Change? In effect, the Williams Foundation just held a seminar which addressed this question. The Williams Foundation has focused for the past few years on the modernization of…
The Australian Defense Minister followed the opening address at the RAAF Airpower Conference 2018 given by Air Marshal Davies with an overview of how she saw the evolving global situation and its impact on the ADF. Senator the Honorable Marise Payne, the Minister of Defence, noted at the outset that…
The RAAF Airpower Conference 2018 provided a good look at the perceived dynamics of change in the broader global environment and within the ongoing technological revolution reshaping the demand side of both the use and development of modern airpower and the ADF more generally. The conference was opened by Air…
By Dr Alan Stephens It was the 19th century British prime minister Lord Palmerston who famously remarked that in international relations there are “no eternal allies … only interests”. Palmerston’s hard-headed world view has particular relevance for small- and medium-nations that find themselves drawn into high-intensity warfare. The October 1973…
With changes in the region, and with new dynamics of change in the North Atlantic, how might Australia rethink its defense policy? It is clear that the current government has put in place a fundamental transformation of Australian defense policy with the RAAF being significantly modernized, the navy recapitalized but…
By Robbin Laird When I attended the 2016 RAAF Airpower Conference, the main focus was upon the newly released White Paper and related documents announcing the government’s ways ahead on defense modernization. The Conference highlighted key elements for the modernization of the Australian Defence Force and the importance of shaping…
