Dr Robbin Laird, Enhancing the Ready Force: A Key Imperative for Australia in the Evolving Strategic Environment, 23 May 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) The Sir Richard Willliams Seminar held in Canberra on May 22, 2025, highlighted the challenges facing the ramping up of the ready force in operating in the rapidly evolving strategic environment. After the seminar, I discussed with Air Marshal (Retired) Geoff Brown his takeaways from the day’s seminar regarding key themes

Dr Robbin Laird, Defence Industry in Australia: Building Strategic Depth and Resilience in Support of the Ready Force, 7 October 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) The September 26, 2024 Sir Richard Williams Foundation focused on accelerating the capabilities of the ready force. Defence industry in Australia is obviously a key player in the ability for the government to find ways to enhance the ready force. A panel of six industrial representatives discussed this challenge l

Dr Robbin Laird, Enabling and Defending the National Information Society: The Space Dimension, 7 October 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) Some time ago – more than a decade – I worked with Alan Dupas, the noted French space expert, on a project for a European space company on the future of space in 2020. We focused on the key point that although a space company was most closely identified with launchers and satellites, the future was its engagement in the global informatio

Dr Robbin Laird, Shaping a Way Ahead for Airpower in a Contested Region: The Perspective of Air Vice Marshal Glen Braz, 7 October 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) Air Vice Marshal Braz participated in the latest Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar on September 26, 2024. His presentation and engagement were as part of a panel with Rear Admiral Christopher Smith, Commander Australian Fleet which focused on how to generate mass for the ready force. I had chance to meet wi

Dr Robbin Laird, The Challenge of Shaping the Way Ahead for the Ready Force and Preparing for Future Threats, 5 October 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) Prior to the 26 September 2024 Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar which focused on shaping a way ahead for the ready force, I spoke with John Conway to get his perspective on the focus of the seminar. With four decades experience in the business of air combat across operations and industry, John is identified this way

Dr Robbin Laird, How Does the Ready Force Deal with a Rapidly Changing Operational Environment? 4 October 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) It is fine to have long-range force structure planning, but what happens when the operational environment is rapidly changing for your operational force? How to adapt the ready force effectively and adeptly in a timely manner? And what consequences does that have for one’s long-range force structure design? The presentation by Jennifer

Dr Robbin Laird, The Chief of the Australian Army Explains How They are Dealing with the Simultaneous Challenges of the Three R’s, 3 October 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) In the September 26, 2024 Sir Richard Williams seminar, we focused on how the force in being can evolve effectively in the near to mid-term as investments are being made in future force capabilities, most notably the new SSNs. This means that the services have to deal with three challenges simultaneous

Dr Robbin Laird, Building Combat Mass: An Air Force Perspective, 2 October 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) The panel on combat mass was chaired by the former Air Commander Australia, AIRMSHL (Retd) Darren Goldie who provided an overview to the discussion. AIRMSHL (Retd) Darren Goldie introduced the panel with a clear overview regarding the challenge. This is how introduced the subject: The definition of combat mass is widely agreed as overwhelming combat power at the deci

Dr Robbin Laird, The Force in Being to Protect the Nation: Its More than the ADF’s Role, 1 October 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) We focused in the September 26, 2024 Sir Richard Williams seminar on ways for the force in being to be augmented in the short to midterm. But for the effective defence of Australia as a nation, one needs to expand the notion from a force in being to a force in being embedded in the national enterprise which participates beyond the remit of the

Dr Robbin Laird, Building Combat Mass: A Navy Perspective, 30 September 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) When you are a medium-sized force and not adding a lot of manned platforms in the next five years, how to you enhance combat mass? Or put another way how does the ADF as a ready force create mass effects with what they must fight with tonight and what they can plus up with in the short to mid-term? This was the focus of the panel chaired by AIRMSHL (Retd) Darren Goldie

Dr Robbin Laird, The Challenge for Defence Readiness: The Impact of Politics, 29 September 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) If one is focused on how the force in being can be a more ready force, one will generally look in vain in the political class for a keen focus on this challenge. And this is true for all of the AUKUS partners. It is not difficult to see why. A ready force needs supplies, munition stockpiles, reliable energy supplies, food stocks, logistics capability

Dr Robbin Laird, The Perspective of Australia’s AUKUS Partners on Shaping the Way Ahead for Airpower , 28 September 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) General Kevin Schneider, Commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces and AVM Mark Flewin, Air Officer Commanding 1 Group Royal Air Force both spoke at the September 26, 2024 Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar. The first presentation was by a video recording and the second was an in person presentation after the long flight from

Dr Robbin Laird, The September 26, 2024 Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar: An Initial Take, 27 September 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) The most recent seminar of The Sir Richard Williams Foundation was entitled: “Enhancing and Accelerating the Integrated Force: An Operational Perspective.” This seminar focused on how the force in being or the ready force was focused on improving its capability, its survivability and lethality for the fight tonight. For such a foc

Dr Robbin Laird Final Report: Enhancing and Accelerating the Integrated Force: An Operational Perspective - will be released in October More articles from Dr Laird are posted in Event Proceedings Synopsis and Program Conference speakers Welcoming Remarks VADM (Rtd) Tim Barrett AO, CSC, Sir Richard Williams Foundation Introduction and MC WGCDR Sally Knox, Sir Richard Williams Foundation Politics and Defence in the AUKUS countries - the agenda in the 2020s Peter Jennings

Dr Robbin Laird, Shaping a Way Ahead for Airpower in a Contested Region: The Perspective of Air Vice Marshal Glen Braz, 7 October 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) Air Vice Marshal Braz participated in the latest Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar on September 26, 2024. His presentation and engagement were as part of a panel with Rear Admiral Christopher Smith, Commander Australian Fleet which focused on how to generate mass for the ready force. I had chance to meet wi

The Foundation’s Chair, Air Marshal (Retd) Geoff Brown AO, who is also the former Chief of Air Force, was quoted in the public media this...

Dr Robbin Laird Final Report: The Multi-Domain Requirements of an Australian Maritime Strategy 11 April 2024 More articles from Dr Laird are posted in Event Proceedings Synopsis and Program Conference speakers AIRMSHL Geoff Brown AO (Retd) Chair, Sir Richard Williams Foundation Host SQNLDR Sally Knox Sir Richard Williams Foundation MC Crises, what crisis? Policy perspectives and strategic coherence Peter Jennings AO, PSM, Director Strategic Analysis Australia The Defence

Dr Robbin Laird, The Strategic Shift in Australian Defence Requires a Shift in the Approach for Australian Defence Industry, 16 May 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) To achieve the kind of resilience and sustainability which Australia requires in dealing with the threat environment, Australia needs to build more focused defence industrial capability. What kind of capability is most needed in the evolving strategic environment? To understand the nature of the shift required

Dr Robbin Laird, A Focused Force: Autonomous Systems and a Distributed ISR Enterprise, 14 May 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) As the...

Dr Robbin Laird, Australia’s New Defence Strategy: Reshaping the ADF into a Focused Force, 9 May 2024 Link to article (Defense.info) The Australian government has laid out its strategy of change for the ADF in last year’s Defence Strategic Review (DSR) and in this year’s defence investment plan and national defence strategy. But frankly, deep cuts in current capability to play for the future force leaves many of us unsure of where the Australian government thinks it is going