The contest of ideas needed to drive Australian military concepts and capabilities into the future can take many forms. Unfortunately, most

Culture is what defines, unites, and sets a group apart from others. Within the Air Force, culture drives formal and informal rules in how w

Editorial Note: Between February and April 2018, The Central Blue and From Balloons to Drones, will be publishing a series of articles that

28 February 2018 Editorial Note: Between February and April 2018, The Central Blue and From Balloons to Drones, will be publishing a series of articles that examine the requirements of high-intensity warfare in the 21st Century. These articles provide the intellectual underpinnings to a seminar on high-intensity warfare being held on 22 March by the Williams Foundation in Canberra, Australia. In this article, Dr Brian Laslie discusses the introduction of Exercise Red Flag by

#DEFAus17 is the key event for the Australian Defence Entrepreneurs Forum (DEF), affiliated with the US and UK branches as well as the Kiwi

This is a story about Major General William “Billy” Mitchell and his innovator’s journey through the trough of sorrow.

The integration of manned and unmanned systems may be the next step in the evolution of air operations. In this post, Donald Woldhuis and Michael Spencer describe the US Army’s approach to integrating tactical unmanned systems with the AH-64 Apache, referred to as Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T). Is this a capability that smaller forces should be looking to when considering the replacement of their battlefield helicopter fleets? New battlefield helicopter capabilities are bei

The last few months have seen a flurry of announcements relating to Australia’s space industry. In July 2017, the Government commenced a review of the Australian space industry, and on 29 September they announced the intention to create an Australian space agency. On the same day, the RAAF and the University of New South Wales announced that a contract had been signed to launch three CubeSats into low earth orbit commencing in 2018. These announcements signal the end of the A

All too often air forces tend to associate solutions to capability problems with the use of high-tech, often expensive, fixes. In this post, Squadron Leader Michael Spencer uses the story of Beatrice Shilling to highlight that this should not be the case. Shilling’s simple yet effective solution to an engine design flaw that limited the performance of RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes during the early World War II air battles over France and Britain stands out as the exemplar of p

In this post, our first serving Australian Army contributor — Captain David Caligari — argues collaboration across the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is imperative if we are to have the edge to fight and win future conflicts. Collaboration is built into our people — can we harness the potential this offers? The barriers to start a new crowd-powered service are low and getting lower. A hive mind scales up wonderfully smoothly. Kevin Kelly, The Inevitable Our ability to fight a

In this post Wing Commander Jason Begley asks whether the Air Force is fostering the Operator-Intellectuals it needs to meet the challenge of a fifth-generation force and explores some of the challenges to the Air Force valuing thinking about thinking as much as it values thinking about technology. During the 2016 Air Power Conference, Dr Paula Thornhill called on the Air Force to generate warrior-scholars to lead it into the future. A balance between operator and intellectua

In the final of his three-post series exploring the potential utility of podded capabilities for the Royal Australian Air Force, Squadron Leader Jimmy uses vignettes to explain how pod-augmented capabilities could be used to enhance air power’s contribution to operations. In my previous two posts I have highlighted the potential of ISR and Multi-Mission Augmentation Pods, and identified some practical options that could expand the utility of the Royal Australian Air Force’s c

In its first century, air power established itself as an indispensable component of any effective military force. In this post, Dr. Sanu Kainikara asks what the next step-change will be that will guide the development of air power into its second century. In the past few decades, air power, and its application as a weapon of war or force projection capability, has seen an enormous improvement in capabilities. In keeping with the current global ethos of avoiding excessive use

‘Podded’ capabilities have the potential to significantly increase the flexibility of Air Force assets across a range of traditional and emerging roles. In this second of a three-post series, Squadron Leader Jimmy explores collection options other than full motion video (FMV) that could enhance platform utility and flexibility with minimal interference to traditional mission sets. In the previous post I discussed the potential utility of mission augmentation pods to provide t

‘Podded’ capabilities have the potential to significantly increase the flexibility of Air Force assets across a range of traditional and emerging roles. In this first of a three-post series, Squadron Leader Jimmy explores the concept of ‘podded’ capabilities and how they may increase the utility of aircraft assets across the full spectrum of operations, regardless of their ‘primary’ mission role. The concept of introducing flexible additional capabilities into the battlespace

In this post, Emily Chapman makes the case for increased ‘jointness’ in professional education, outlining a number of proposals to increase collaboration across the services and prevent silos of intellectual excellence. A single RAAF Officer pitched to a predominately Army audience on the need for a Joint Professional Military Education (PME) Association at the inaugural Defence Entrepreneurs Australia Forum in December 2016. As that Officer, I can attest that it was driven b

Talk of innovation and the need for cross-pollination to break down stove-pipes is widespread in today’s Air Force, but it is sometimes difficult for those in the field to see beyond the strategic messaging to embrace the operational importance of these concepts. In this review of The Hunter Killers: The Extraordinary Story of the First Wild Weasels, the Mavericks Who Flew the Most Dangerous Missions of the Vietnam War, Squadron Leader Jimmy draws our attention to the reality

A boom in consumer drone sales has spawned a counter-industry of start-ups aiming to stop drones flying where they shouldn’t, by disabling them or knocking them out of the sky, report Jeremy Wagstaff and Swati Pandey of Reuters An eagle trained by the Netherlands police captures a drone inflight with its claws (photo credit Koen/Van/Weel/AFP/Getty Images) Drones Rule Dozens of start-up firms are developing techniques – from deploying birds of prey to firing gas through a bazo

Are Western defence forces obsessed with platforms at the expense of technological innovation? According to a recent history of the US’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), they are; furthermore, that reactionary mindset has hampered their development. Innovation or Platformitis? Australia’s next submarine, 20 years and $50 billion away In 1945, the great American air commander General H.H. “Hap” Arnold contended that it is essential for an air force to “keep i