Featured Article

03/23/2024
By Robbin Laird The U.S. faces a vastly different world than when it primarily focused on land wars post-9/11. Today it faces a multi-polar authoritarian world, with adversaries and competitors with both shared and competing interests, capabilities, and approaches to the use of military force to achieve objectives. With that in mind, how does the U.S. train a naval force to operate in such a world? And how do you draw on relevant U.S. joint…
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Next Generation Autonomous Systems: A Williams Foundation Special Report

06/09/2021On April 8, 2021, the Williams Foundation held a seminar originally scheduled for last March. It was postponed as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. As Air Marshal (Retired)… Read more »

Defence Industry and Working with Defence in Shaping a Way Ahead for Autonomous Systems

06/08/2021By 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… Read more »

The Strategic Opportunities and Challenges for II MEF Transformation

06/07/2021By 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… Read more »

Expanding Capabilities: The Viper Attack Helicopter Adds Link 16

06/07/2021By 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… Read more »

The Australian Army, Navy and Air Force Shape a Way Ahead for the Inclusion of Autonomous Systems

06/05/2021By 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… Read more »

The Evolution of C2 in II MEF Transformation

06/04/2021By 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… Read more »

The Eco-System for Next Generation Autonomous Systems and Shaping a Way Ahead for the ADF

06/03/2021By Robbin Laird In the April 8, 2021, Williams Foundation seminar on Next Generation Autonomous Systems, an important consideration was how the ADF could leverage a broader ecosystem… Read more »

Shaping Australian Long-Range Strike: A Role for an Aussie B-21?

06/02/2021By Marcus Hellyer The government’s 2020 defence strategic update provided refreshing clarity about Australia’s deteriorating strategic environment and the need for new military capabilities to address it. These… Read more »

Re-shaping North Atlantic Defense: Shaping a Way Ahead for North-Carolina Based Marines

06/01/2021By Robbin Laird The Navy and the Marines are reworking ways to enhance their warfighting and deterrence capabilities in the North Atlantic. This effort has been referred to… Read more »