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Evolution of Air Bases - Darwin Revisted

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Australian Defence Force 

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Australia is a maritime, geographically vast, technologically capable, and globally connected nation. These attributes do not guarantee effective national security, but they do provide choice, and Australia is now under increasing pressure to make the right one.

The onset of the war in Ukraine saw one of the most dramatic shifts in combined arms warfare since the introduction of the machine gun. This shift is attributed to the wide scale introduction of drones to the modern battlefield (Kagan et al, 2024). Principally the conflict is demonstrating drones pioneering new capabilities in reconnaissance, close air support and strategic strike with virtually zero risk to the operator.

Technology usually follows a certain progression – first the device gets more features before it reduces in size. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) fill this description perfectly, and we have yet to come up with an adequate defence for them.

Space Command should make deliberate decisions on its organisational design by working through each element that will enable the Executive to bypass the constraints of traditional Services. a true representation of Space Command’s successful establishment will be observed when it is considered as part of Australia’s national power and used as such by the Government.

Airbases do not feature significantly in the history of air power unless they are denied.

How Modern Warfare Requires a Whole-of-Nation ApproachJason KorenstraAustralian Defence Force

Introduction

The Four-Day Near-Peer Air WarPeter LaytonGriffith University and Australian Defence ForceIn May 2025, India and Pakistan fought a near-peer air wa