Featured Article

09/29/2025
By Robbin Laird Modern warfare has reached an inflection point. As technology accelerates and battlespaces become increasingly complex, military aviation faces a fundamental truth: the next generation of military superiority will belong not to those with the most aircraft, but to those who make the smartest investments in their human capital. The recent insights from Tom Webster of Textron Aviation Defense illuminate this reality with striking clarity -- the future belongs to forces that can…
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Ukraine’s Robot Army: The Rise of Unmanned Ground Vehicles in Modern Warfare

10/10/2025The battlefields of Ukraine are witnessing a technological revolution that is reshaping the nature of ground combat. While aerial drones have dominated headlines throughout the conflict, a new… Read more »

Investing in War Winners: Transforming Naval Aviation Training for Future Dominance

09/29/2025By Robbin Laird Modern warfare has reached an inflection point. As technology accelerates and battlespaces become increasingly complex, military aviation faces a fundamental truth: the next generation of… Read more »

From Good Enough to Strategic Command: The Evolution of Military Pilot Training

09/23/2025I talked with Tom Webster of Textron Aviation Defense on July 15, 2025 about the legacy of combat pilot training and the reshaping of that approach to embrace… Read more »

Rethinking Military Training for the High-End Fight: From Kill Chains to Kill Webs

08/14/2025By Robbin Laird In 2021, my book entitled Training for the High-End Fight: The Strategic Shift of the 2020s was published. I am starting a series of article… Read more »

The Convergence of Strategic Vision and Operational Reality: From GBU-57 Development to Modern Air Supremacy

06/28/2025By Robbin Laird The recent operations Midnight Hammer and Rising Lion represent the culmination of decades of strategic airpower investment, demonstrating how prescient weapons development from the early… Read more »

Shaping a Way Ahead for Autonomous Defence Capabilities for the ADF

06/17/2025By Robbin Laird On June 5, 2025, I had a chance to talk with Air Vice-Marshal Nick Hogan, the Head of Air Force Capability within the RAAF about… Read more »

Australia and the Way Ahead with Autonomous Systems

06/15/2025During my visit to Australia in May-June 2025, I have focused significantly on the coming of autonomous systems and how to incorporate them effectively into the Australian Defence… Read more »

Reshaping Combined Arms Operations: Lessons Learned from Drone Warfare Operations

06/14/2025We have a growing experience with drone warfare and its impacts. The best way to understand their impact is how they have already re-shaped combined arms operations. Notably… Read more »

The Autonomous Revolution: How Australia Could Transform Defense Through Maritime Robotics

06/13/2025By Robbin Laird On May 28, 2025, Michael Shoebridge, Director of Strategic Analysis Australia, and I travelled to Melbourne, Australia to visit C2 Robotics which is described on… Read more »