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Over the past years, the theme of resilience has been firmly enshrined as one of the many attributes required of the contemporary war fighter. Nowhere in the country is the preparedness of our Air Force more succinct than in northern Australia.

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.

This time last year, in my first gig as a reservist, I had the pleasure of presenting to the 20th Australian International Aerospace Congress (AIAC20) on the topic of the MQ-4C Triton airworthiness program. Specifically, I spoke about how it had been structured in lieu of any formal recognition of the United States (US) Navy as a competent design organisation for Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) or any formal airworthiness certification of the design basis for the Triton system itself.

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.

Welcome back on the rollercoaster!

The Australian government has made very clear that, to defend the nation, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) must be an integrated force. This article contends that such a goal remains an unrealised ambition.