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.
For several decades, the relationship between Australia and India seemed limited to Commonwealth, cricket and curry.
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.
Rush Hour on the Freeway: Quick Wins and Integrated CapabilityLeith RobertsAustralian Defence ForceFirst, be patient.
The Four-Day Near-Peer Air WarPeter LaytonGriffith University and Australian Defence ForceIn May 2025, India and Pakistan fought a near-peer air wa
Defence Strategic Review: Air Force Reserve Workforce Targeted Reengagement
Shane Ivimey
Australian Defence Force
Developing a Sustainable Aviation Transition Strategy in IndiaAdithya VariathJindal Global University
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.
Is the Australian Society Ready for Mass information Warfare?
Elliot Parker
Australian Defence Force
