Visiting HMAS Hobart: A Key Building Block in the Remaking of the Royal Australian Navy

08/06/2018
By Robbin Laird During my current trip to Australia, I started with the opportunity to visit the HMAS Hobart, the first Aegis Air Warfare destroyer for the Royal Australian Navy. This was my second visit to Garden Island, and it is always exciting to see the city of Sydney in…

Working Manned-Unmanned Teaming

08/06/2018
By Todd Miller In what seems like a sci-fi movie of only a few years ago, “artificial intelligence empowered, war fighting drones” teamed with manned command and control are shaping up as the path forward. The last few years have seen several manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) initiatives by the USAF and…

Information Warfare and the Authoritarian States: How Best to Respond?

08/05/2018
By Robbin Laird In a new study published by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the authors, Thomas Mahnken, Ross Babbage, and Toshi Yoshihara, look at the challenge posed by the authoritarian states in shaping coercive political strategies and how the liberal democracies might respond to them. They conclude…

RAAF Air Traffic Controllers onboard the HMAS Adelaide During RIMPAC 2018

08/05/2018
During the RIMOAC 2018 exercise, RAAF air traffic controllers enhanced their experiences in managing maritime air traffic onboard HMAS Adelaide. According to a story published by the Australian Navy on August 3, 2018 and written by Stephanie Anderson: Two Air Traffic Control Officers posted to HMAS Adelaide are taking advantage of an…

Adding to the Russian Tool Set: The Role of Russian “Private” Military Contractors

08/04/2018
By Stephen Blank Not a day passes without a fresh revelation of Russian probes against the West somewhere in the world. By now audiences are possibly accustomed to this fact but it remains difficult for elites, ot to mention ordinary citizens, to grasp that Moscow has been waging a war,…

Exercise Pitch Black 2018

07/31/2018
Exercise Pitch Black is a biennial three week multi-national large force employment exercise conducted from RAAF Base Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal. Exercise Pitch Black 2018 will be held from 27 July to 17 August 2018.  [maxgallery id="119009"] Exercises such as Pitch Black are pivotal to ensuring Air Force remains ready to respond…

Changes at the Department of Commerce to Reshape Government Leadership: The Case of Commercial Space

07/29/2018
By Ed Timperlake As part of the streamlining of government and reduction of over regulation, the Trump Administration Department of Commerce is taking a lead role in the space policy reform championed by the President. According to an article by Jeff Foust published by Space News on May 27, 2018,…