'Space as a Fight Tonight Domain: Jeremy King on Australia’s Strategic Imperative' in Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance Proceedings - Paper 5, Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar, 23 April 2026 By Robbin Laird Jeremy King speaking to the 23 April 2026 Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar. At the Williams Foundation Seminar on the Fight Tonight Force held on 23 April 2026, Jeremy King’s, Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealan

'Training as Combat Generation: The Case for a Systems Approach' in Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance Proceedings - Paper 4, Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar, 23 April 2026 By Robbin Laird Alexander Robinson speaking to the 23 April 2026 Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar. One of the more thought-provoking presentations at the seminar came from Alexander Robinson, Sales and Capability Director at Pilatus Aircraft Australia. Robinson opened

'From Prototypes to Operational Realities: Australia’s Maritime Autonomous Systems Unit and the Tasks That Cannot Wait' Interview with Marcus Hellyer, Head of Research at Strategic Analysis Australia By Robbin Laird Alexander Robinson speaking to the 23 April 2026 Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar. Australia’s Maritime Autonomous Systems Unit, the MASU, stands at an inflection point. The period of experimentation and prototype evaluation that has defined the past severa

'Air and Missile Defense, Precision Strike, and the Indo-Pacific: Lessons from Ukraine and the Gulf' in Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance Proceedings - Paper 3, Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar, 23 April 2026 By Robbin Laird At the Sir Richard Williams seminar held on 23 April 2026 focused on the fight tonight challenge, Justin Bronk delivered a presentation that cut through a great deal of the conceptual noise currently cluttering Western defen

'From Boutique Concern to Existential Question: Logistics, Sustainment and Combat Power' Interview with Dr. David Beaumont By Robbin Laird During a visit to Canberra in April 2026, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. David Beaumont, writer at the website ‘The Paper War’ (formerly ‘Logistics In War’), and one of the most persistent advocates for taking logistics seriously as a strategic discipline. For years, Beaumont has argued that logistics and sustainment sit at the

'Ten Months, Not Ten Years: Mike Pezzullo on Australia’s Strategic Moment' in Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance Proceedings - Paper 2, Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar, 23 April 2026 By Dr Robbin Laird There is a particular kind of clarity that comes from a man who spent four decades inside the machinery of Australian national security and is now, as he put it, “free” to speak. Mike Pezzullo, former Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs an

'So how to exploit Australia’s strategic advantages?' in Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance Proceedings - Paper 1, Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar, 23 April 2026 By Dr Robbin Laird ACM (Retd) Mark Binskin AC, Chair, Sir Richard Williams Foundation, opening the seminar on 23 April 2026. The Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar of 23 April 2026 brought together practitioners, analysts, industry leaders and allies to confront a deceptively simpl

Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance - Paper #12 By Dr Robbin Laird The contemporary Indo-Pacific security environment presents a fundamental challenge to traditional alliance structures: how can middle powers maintain strategic autonomy while deepening military cooperation with major power partners? This dilemma is particularly acute for Australia, which faces the competing imperatives of economic integration with China, security dependence on the United

Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance - Paper #11 By Dr Robbin Laird The recent Williams Foundation seminar on military readiness did not really highlight or provide detailed perspectives on how uncrewed systems could empower the fight tonight force and help drive the ongoing operational re-design process which is becoming a key part of military readiness. Australia finds itself positioned to leverage this technological moment. With sophisticated defence s

Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance - Interview Paper #10 By Dr Robbin Laird Australia faces one of the world’s most daunting maritime security challenges. With 37,000 kilometers of coastline and the third-largest exclusive economic zone globally, the Australian Maritime Border Command must protect an area so vast that traditional approaches simply cannot scale effectively. To put this in perspective, Australia’s maritime responsibility covers more ocean

Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance - Conference Paper #9 By Dr Robbin Laird In an era of shifting geopolitical dynamics and evolving security challenges, traditional approaches to defence logistics and industrial cooperation are proving fundamentally inadequate. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has starkly illustrated that modern warfare demands not just superior firepower, but the ability to sustain, adapt, and surge capabilities at unprecedented speed

Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance - Conference Proceedings #8 By Dr Robbin Laird The ghost of inadequate preparation haunts modern military planning. Mrs. Marion Chapman’s 1949 letter to the Department of Air, lamenting her son’s death in the Pacific War, carries a haunting accusation that resonates today: “he, with others, was so poorly equipped, directed and eventually abandoned.” This stark reminder opened the panel discussion on building resilience

Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance - Conference Proceedings #7 By Dr Robbin Laird In an era of growing strategic uncertainty, Australia faces a fundamental question about its defence posture: how does a geographically isolated continent-nation sustain military operations when global supply chains fail? Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Robert Denney, now Country Executive for Northrop Grumman Australia, delivered a compelling answer in a recent presentation th

Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance - Conference Proceedings #6 By Dr Robbin Laird Air Commodore Alun Roberts, Head Air to Air Missiles Royal Air Force, outlined in a virtual presentation to the seminar, Britain’s ambitious defence transformation in response to evolving global security challenges. The United Kingdom’s recently published Strategic Defence Review (SDR) 2025 represents nothing sa paradigm shift in British defence thinking. He argued that is

Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance - Conference Proceedings #5 By Dr Robbin Laird In an era of unprecedented global uncertainty, Australia faces a critical question: Can the nation mobilize its industrial base quickly enough to meet emerging security challenges? According to Matt Jones (seen above in the featured photo), Head of Future Business Defence Delivery at BAE Systems Australia, the answer lies not in waiting for crisis to justify action, but in

Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance - Conference Proceedings #4 By Dr Robbin Laird From left: AVM (Retd) Zed Roberton DSC, AM, Professor Justin Bronk, GPCAPT Steven Thornton, LTGEN Susan Coyle AM, CSC, DSM The nature of warfare is fundamentally unchanged — it remains a contest of political will between adversaries. However, the character of how wars are fought has transformed dramatically. In an era where conflicts can be decided before the first missile

Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance - Conference Proceedings #3 By Dr Robbin Laird The nature of military transformation has fundamentally changed. Where once armed forces could afford to develop new platforms over decades and then figure out how to use them, today’s security environment demands a completely different approach. This shift represents perhaps the most significant change in military thinking since the advent of combined arms warfare itself.

Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance - Conference Proceedings #2 By Dr Robbin Laird For decades, integrated air and missile defence has been synonymous with ballistic missile defence, Patriots and Aegis systems standing guard against incoming rockets. But Professor Justin Bronk of the Royal United Service Institute delivered a stark wake-up call at the seminar: the modern threat spectrum demands a fundamental rethink of air defence, and the timeline for p

Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance - Conference Proceedings #1 By Dr Robbin Laird On September 18, 2025, the Sir Richard Williams Foundation held its 2nd seminar for the year which was entitled: “Fight Tonight: Combat Readiness at the Speed of Relevance.” I will highlight the presentations at the conference in a series of articles over the next few weeks. I will conclude the series with an article providing my perceptions of what were the major answers

Dr Robbin Laird, The Imperative for Cost Effectiveness in Multidomain Operations: Final Report, 22 May 2025 Link to ebook (Defense.info)

Dr Robbin Laird, Shaping a Way Ahead for Autonomous Defence Capabilities for the ADF by Denial, 17 June 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) Australian Army Drone Racing Team pilots were presented the Inter-Service Championship Team award by Air Vice-Marshal Nicholas Hogan, CSC – Head of Air Capability, during a drone racing event at the Australian International Airshow 2025 at Avalon Airport. March 3, 2025. Credit: Australian Department of Defence On June 5, 2025, I had a cha

Dr Robbin Laird, Strategic Transformation for a New Era: Reworking the Australian’s Army’s Role in Australian Defence, 16 June 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) The Australian Army is undergoing what its leadership describes as the most significant transformation since World War II, fundamentally reshaping itself for an era of great power competition in the Indo-Pacific. This comprehensive adaptation, driven by the 2023 Defence Strategic Review, represents both a strategic

Dr Robbin Laird, Australia and the Way Ahead with Autonomous Systems, 15 June 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) During 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 Force and for security operations. I have published a new book which looks specifically at the paradigm shift in maritime operations and how maritime autonomous systems are key drivers i

Dr Robbin Laird, Reshaping Combined Arms Operations: Lessons Learned from Drone Warfare Operations, 14 June 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) We 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 when combined with payload revolution and fifth generation warfare operations, as seen in the recent Israeli operation in Iran, drones are becoming a key part of

Dr Robbin Laird, The Autonomous Revolution: How Australia Could Transform Defense Through Maritime Robotics, 13 June 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) 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 its website as follows: “C2 Robotics specialises in the rapid development of cutting edge robotics and autonomous systems for Defence applications across the maritim

Dr Robbin Laird, The Maritime Revolution: How Autonomous Vessels Are Reshaping Naval Strategy, 12 June 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) The era of autonomous maritime operations has quietly arrived, moving beyond experimental trials to become operational reality. A recent conversation with Robert Dane, CEO of OCIUS, underscores how autonomous vessels are fundamentally changing naval operations—and why traditional naval thinking must evolve to harness their potential. OCIUS

Dr Robbin Laird, Training for Modern Airpower Operations: How to Address the Challenges, 9 June 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) On June 3, 2025, I had a chance to meet with Air Vice-Marshal Glen Braz, Air Commander Australia, to follow up on his participation in the Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar held on May 23, 2025. What I specifically wanted to talk with him about is the key challenges facing training an air combat force which is fifth-generation enabled. As I

Dr Robbin Laird, Shaping a Way Ahead for the Australian Defence Force in the Context of Global Strategic Transition, 3 June 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) At the May 22, 2025 Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar, Air Marshal Robert Chipman, Vice Chief of the Australian Defence Forces, recently outlined the nation’s evolving approach to national security in a comprehensive address. Chipman describes Australia’s security environment as “complex and deteriorating,” with

Dr Robbin Laird, Training for Modern Airpower Operations: How to Address the Challenges, 3 June 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) I had the opportunity to meet with Lt. General Simon Stuart, Chief of the Australian Army in. his office on 19 May 2025. We discussed a specific aspect of the way ahead for the Australian Army, namely its role in Australian littoral operations. In an era where geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific region are significant, the Australian Army i

Dr Robbin Laird, An Update on the Royal Australian Air Force: A Conversation with Air Marshal Chappell, 2 June 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) At the May 22, 2025 Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar, Air Marshal Geoff Brown (Retd), former Chief of Air Force 2011-2015), talked with Air Marshal Chappell (current Chief of Air Force since July 2024) about the current state of the RAAF and the way ahead. Air Marshal Chappell emphasized that the Royal Australian Air Force i

Dr Robbin Laird, The Need to Speed Delivery for the Ready Force and Enabling a More Cost-Effective Future Force, 1 June 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) The second panel during the Sir Richard Williams seminar held on May 22, 2025 was composed of members of the Australian defence industry and was chaired by Katherine Ziesing, Sir Richard Williams Foundation. She posed questions throughout and drove a more integrated discussion than would have occurred otherwise. The member

Dr Robbin Laird, Air Power and the Challenge of Shaping an Effective Ready Force Which Can Deliver Deterrence by Denial, 29 May 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) The first of two panels held at the Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar on May 22, 2025 was entitled a “Cost Per Effect” panel. It was chaired by Air Marshal (Retd) Darren Goldie and the panelists were: Air Vice Marshal Glen Braz, Air Commander Australia Professor Justin Bronk. Air Vice Marshal John Haly, Head

Dr Robbin Laird, Enhancing the Ready Force: Providing the Optimal Mix to Deliver the Desired Combat Effect, 28 May 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) Sustaining and equipping the ready force in dynamically changing operational conditions is a major challenge facing the ADF and those of its allies. A critical metric for evaluating approaches for how to deliver a cost desired effect is simply comparing the use of force packages or what I prefer to call the combat clusters up a

Dr Robbin Laird, Budgeting for an Enhanced Ready Force, 27 May 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) If the strategic environment is driving an enhanced need to bulk up the capabilities of the ready force, where will the money come from to do so? And just as significantly, would recasting and reinforcing the fight tonight force with new means such as maritime autonomous systems change the approach to future force building? Dr. Marcus Hellyer, Head of Research at Strategic Analy

Dr Robbin Laird, Enhancing Non-Kinetic Capabilities in the Ready Force, 26 May 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) At the 22 May 2025 Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar, GPCAPT Marija Jovanovich, Chief of Staff of the Vice Chief of the Defence Force, underscored a crucial approach for enhancing the combat capability and success of the ready force. This is the ability of deceiving the adversary to the point whereby they simply do not know where best to strike and to not b

Dr Robbin Laird, A Blueprint for Action for the USAF: How to Enhance Combat Readiness to Meet the Strategic Challenges Facing the U.S. and Its Allies, 26 May 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) The United States Air Force stands at a critical crossroads. After decades of counterinsurgency operations and peacetime bureaucracy, America’s air arm faces an uncomfortable reality: it may not be adequately prepared for the high-intensity conflicts that could define the next decade.

Dr Robbin Laird, Putting the Nature of the Military Capability Threat from the Multi-Polar Authoritarian World in Perspective, 25 May 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) In assessing how the question of how to balance long-term force development versus the need to prioritize ways to enhance the ready force in the short to mid-term, a critical consideration is the nature and scope of the military and security threat posed by the global players – the multi-polar authoritarian w

Dr Robbin Laird, Dr. Marcus Hellyer on Breaking the Autonomous Systems Defence Employment Barrier, 24 May 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) On May 22, 2025, I had a chance to talk with Dr. Marcus Hellyer about a key problem which was raised during his presentation yesterday at the Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar. Australia faces its most challenging strategic environment since World War II, yet its defense establishment remains locked in outdated thinking that could

Dr Robbin Laird, Australia in Era of Strategic Uncertainty: The Defence Dimension, 23 May 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) Yesterday, the first seminar of 2025 for the Sir Richard Williams Foundation was held at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. The seminar was entitled: The Imperatives for Cost Effectiveness in Multidomain Operations. The program for the seminar laid out the basic aim for the seminar as follows: The 2025 seminar series will identify and discu

Dr Robbin Laird, Air Power in an Age of Strategic Uncertainty: The Perspective of General Moseley, 23 May 2025 Link to article (Defense.info) Recently, General (ret) T Michael “Buzz” Moseley KBE, spoke via video link to the May 22, 2025 seminar held by the Sir Richard Williams Foundation in Canberra, Australia. General Moseley was the 18th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. Moseley was a distinguished war fighter who lived in the world as it is rather than the wor

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