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Matthew ThorntonAustralian Defence ForceWhen a drone from an adversary attacks an office in Amberley, how many of our industry partners will show u

Air Marshal Chipman, former Chief of the Air Force, announced on the eve of the 2023 Avalon Air Show that Australia needs to consider and invest in low-cost mass-produced (LCMP) drones.

The Moral Hazard of Bloodless Air BattlesDaniel CookAustralian Defence ForceA trend has appeared in modern warfare in 2025 – short conflicts betwee

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.

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.

Like all aspects of the ADF, the Air Force has the need to contribute and enable Australia’s larger national power strategies.

Introduction

Rethinking Air Superiority - Towards an Integrated Framework for Modern AirpowerKazunobu SakumaJapan Air Self-Defence ForceFor over a&nbs