Chris McInnes explores the role of cognition in warfare and asks whether we understand the types of cognition needed in the future, and what

Robert Vine continues his exploration of the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) future challenges and options for controlling the air by

02 September 2018 Since the end of the Cold War, Western air operations and training  have been built on wresting control of the air over target areas from a defensive adversary to enable follow-on operations. But what if the adversary sought to expand their freedom of action in the air while simultaneously repelling Western efforts to do the same? In this two-part series, Robert Vine examines whether the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) force structure and training regimen i

19 August 2018 On 23 August 2018, the Sir Richard Williams Foundation is holding a seminar on #jointstrike to discuss the imperative for an independent deterrent. The aim of the seminar is to build a common understanding of the need for an independent joint strike capability to provide Australia with a powerful and potent deterrent and a means of demonstrating strategic intent. In the lead up to the seminar, The Central Blue will be running a series in order to generate discu

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

11 March 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, Chris McInnes examines the case for the Royal Australian Air Force (RA

18 February 2018 During 2017, a major war on the Korean Peninsula became a distinct possibility. As the rhetoric over North Korea’s nuclear program heated up, the preparedness of Western militaries to engage in a major war, and the likely cost of such a conflict became regular features in the news cycle. This has had the effect of transforming discussions of a major state-on-state war in Asia away from abstract, Thucydides-inspired notions of a China-United States conflict, t

11 February 2018 In his previous two posts, Brian Weston has described the changes in the RAAF’s organisational structure from formation until the end of the Second World War, and the post-war formation of area commands. In the third instalment of this four-part series, he explains the formation of the Force Element Groups (FEGs) which remain the defining organisational feature of today’s RAAF. The previous two posts in this series outlined the evolution of RAAF organisationa

This is the second in a series of posts by Brian Weston describing the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) organisational evolution since

This is the first in a series of posts by Brian Weston describing the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) organisational evolution since the

This week saw the Australian Defence Force (ADF) undertake its largest amphibious landing since the Second World War as part of its largest and most complex joint and combined exercise, Talisman Sabre. In this post, Wing Commander Paul Hay argues that the Government’s investment in airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities presents the Air Force and the ADF with unprecedented opportunities to enhance land and littoral operations. But, he argues

This is the second in a three-part series on the development of Western operational-level air power command and control arrangements by Wing Commander Chris McInnes. The first post outlined the impact of ideas on command and control, while this post looks at the shaping role of technology in air power command and control. Technology – particularly precision weapons and advanced communications – have redefined the meaning of mass and shifted the air power paradigm from sorties

In a three-part series on the development of Western operational-level air power command and control arrangements, Wing Commander Chris McInnes looks at the interplay of ideas, technology, and people, as well as making some observations on the implications for Australian air power. In this first post, he looks at the ideas of air power unity, equivalency with surface forces, and the pursuit of responsive air power. I recently finished drafting a chapter examining the developm