By Robbin Laird Australia is building an integrated force and working to extend the reach and range of that force. This is a core effort for the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force and clearly focused on dealing with challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. But what is…
By Robbin Laird The Williams Foundation seminar on joint strike and deterrence was led off by a presentation by Wing Commander Jo Brick. The WGCDR focused on looking back at the experience of the RAAF in the strike domain historically and then posing questions about the way ahead for the…
By Robbin Laird When visiting Australia, a key point of entry into the security and defense modernization process is the way the Aussies are reshaping their defense industrial base. They are a country the size of the United States with a population of just under 30 million people, with an…
By Robbin Laird The Williams Foundation seminar held on August 23, 2018 on independent strike was operating within the background of the overhanging issue, or the elephant in the room, of the second nuclear age. The question of what deterrence looks like with the rise of new nuclear powers and…
By Todd Miller One cannot overlook the signage as we snake our way through Stone Bay, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. “Every Marine a Rifleman,” “One Shot, One Kill.” Apparently, the Marines don’t like to waste bullets. This is good information. The crackle of gunfire reverberates through the air from…
By Robbin Laird The Williams Foundation seminar on August 23, 2018 focused on the evolving role of independent strike within the evolving Australian deterrent strategy. Currently, the Australian submarine force provides the longest-range stealth strike platform within the ADF. Although it posseses modest force of six Collins class submarines, the…
By Robbin Laird In my interview with the head of the Air Warfare Centre, Air Commodore “Joe” Iervasi, prior to the August 23, 2018 Williams Foundation Seminar on independent strike, he raised the key question of the relationship between the ADF building an integrated force and the broader considerations of…
Recently, the French Defense Minister spoke to a defense forum in Paris and raised questions about the US and Europe and provided her perspective on the way ahead for Europe. She argued, not surprisingly, for more European autonomy in defense. But clearly, the Brexit dynamic is a fundamental challenge to…
