Royal Australian Air Force’s P-8A Poseidon has fired its first Harpoon during Exercise RIMPAC 2018. This is an important event for the P-8A in reaching Final Operational Capability. Exercise Rim of the Pacific 18 (RIMPAC 18) is a biennial military training exercise to strengthen international maritime partnerships, enhance interoperability and…
According to the Chinese press: The Chinese military will take part in the Vostok-2018 (or East-2018) strategic drills in Russia from late August to mid-September, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense announced on Monday. Military forces from the two countries will hold joint operation exercises at the Tsugol training range…
Exercise Rim of the Pacific 18 (RIMPAC 18) is a biennial military training exercise to strengthen international maritime partnerships, enhance interoperability and improve the readiness of participating forces for a wide range of potential operations. The Australian Defence Force has sent four surface ships, a submarine, one aircraft and more…
By Robbin Laird During my current visit to Australia, I had a chance to visit Electric Optical Systems (EOS) in Canberra and to meet with the founder and his senior team working on space systems. EOS works closely with global customers, including the United States, and provides cutting edge lasers…
Background For over twenty years the F-111 provided the Australian Defence Force with a strike capability with the strategic reach to provide Australia with an independent strike option should deterrence fail. With the retirement of the long-range F-111, Australia’s future air strike capability now rests in the capabilities of the…
By Robbin Laird During my current visit to Australia, I had a chance to continue my discussions with Ross Babbage about the challenges of dealing with 21st advanced authoritarian states. Recently, he co-authored a study entitled “ Countering Comprehensive Coercion: Competitive Strategies Against Authoritarian Political Warfare,” and with that as…
Recently, the officers responsible for P-8 training in the RAAF have returned to Australia from JAX Navy. The Aussies are now doing their training at their main operating base in South Australia, namely RAAF Edinburgh. Second Line of Defense recently visited the base and discussed the transition with Wing Commander,…
Hypersonics has been a key priority for the US until the last Administration pushed the work done to that date into dormancy. But neither the Russians nor the Chinese went to sleep while the US focused on and resource the land wars instead. They continued to make progress on this…
