This article began as a response to Daniel Cook’s recent article on ‘Turning the Tap Off – Stopping the Flow of Pointless Jobs in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)’ (Cook, 2023); as such, it will address some of the points raised in that article within the context a broader trend towards what I term ‘military populism’.
Introduction
What Can the ADF Learn From Ukraine's Air Defences?Kurt SimmillAustralian Defence ForceWhen Russia invaded Ukraine in Febr
Space as a Strategic Geography
Pete Wooding
Australian Defence Force
Rush Hour on the Freeway: Quick Wins and Integrated CapabilityLeith RobertsAustralian Defence ForceFirst, be patient.
The ASPC Leader Enrichment Program blog series delivers the thoughts and concepts of the program's junior leaders as they tackle Module 2
Strategic Cousins: Interoperability between Australia and CanadaBrodie NelsonAustralian Defence ForceIntroduction
Rethinking Air Superiority - Towards an Integrated Framework for Modern AirpowerKazunobu SakumaJapan Air Self-Defence ForceFor over a&nbs
The 'poor man's air force' is a term for employing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hobbyist drones or uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) to strategic level military effect, and that effect cannot be understated (Waters, 2018; Nadeau, 2022; Shift, 2023). The ability for terror organisations to coordinate multiple layers of effects, including using COTS drones, to destroy Command and Control (C2) nodes in Israel causes alarm. Couple this with the use of COTS drones for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, strike and battle-damage assessment missions, and the threat posed by what are essentially toys is alarmingly real.
