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.
Strategist Joseph Caldwell Wylie argued that strategies were implemented through two general types of operational patterns: (1) cumulative warfare, which involves “a collection of lesser actions” where tactical actions gradually built up to have strategic impact; and (2) sequential warfare, which is “a series of discrete steps” where each lead to the next; an example being the island hopping campaign across the Pacific during World War Two.
Technology is a key driver for Air Force capability.
Like all aspects of the ADF, the Air Force has the need to contribute and enable Australia’s larger national power strategies.
Insights From Recent Large-Scale Long-Range Drone and Missile AttacksPeter Layton
The RAAF's Frozen Middle Part Two
Dylan Williamson
Australian Defence Force
How Modern Warfare Requires a Whole-of-Nation ApproachJason KorenstraAustralian Defence Force
Introduction
The Air Power Development Centre has supported the development of Air Power concepts and strategies since 2004.
The Air and Space Power Conference 2026 addressed the topic of air and space power in national defence.
