In this report, the key themes and presentations at the April 8, 2021, Williams Foundation seminar on Next Generation Autonomous Systems are highlighted. A number of interviews with participants are included as well as insights from earlier interviews from pre-COVID visits to Australia. In addition, selected articles are included in…
By Robbin Laird The development and incorporation of autonomous systems into the Australian fifth-generation force requires a close working relationship between defense industry and the Department of Defence and the services. But also requires meeting the challenge already seen with regard to the introduction of software upgradeable systems such as…
By Robbin Laird During late April 2021, I had the chance to visit II MEF at Camp Lejeune. This command is a key part of the overall effort to reshape the working relationship between the operational Navy and the USMC to enable integrated operations. The entire effort encompassed by Second…
By Robbin Laird In a press release today, it was announced: "The United States Marine Corps (USMC) has successfully demonstrated in flight testing a two-way connection between the AH-1Z Viper helicopter and a ground station using new Link-16 hardware and software." In the context of reshaping the current force in…
Guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn (DDG 113) launches a missile during U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Unmanned Systems Integrated Battle Problem (UxS IBP) 21, April 25. UxS IBP 21 integrates manned and unmanned capabilities into challenging operational scenarios to generate warfighting advantages. (U.S. Navy video by Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Clark Lappert)
By Pierre Tran Paris - France last year won arms export contracts worth €4.9 billion ($5.6 billion), down from €8.3 billion in 2019, reflecting lock down and governments freezing military budgets in response to the pandemic crisis, Hervé Grandjean, spokesman for the defense ministry, said June 2. “This retreat is…
By Robbin Laird WGCDR Keirin Joyce noted: “All of the services see robotic autonomous systems as a significant part of the road ahead. It’s just that the services are getting after them differently.” At the Williams Foundation seminar held on April 8, 2021, each of the service chiefs provided their…
By Robbin Laird As II MEF transforms, a key challenge is force cohesion and force aggregation. For example, with the current Marine Expeditionary Unit, the MEU has a well-defined organic capability which allows it to operate effectively and to scale up with force integration with other force units. But going…
