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The Air Force Strategy (AFSTRAT) was released in September 2020 with the intent of informing how Air Force will posture itself to deliver air and s

Effective realisation of national power in support of Australia’s national interests requires all Aviators to have a clear understanding of their c

Decreasing Reliance on Fossil Fuels to Increase Defence Capability

Benjamin Cole
Australian Defence Force

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.

Space Command should make deliberate decisions on its organisational design by working through each element that will enable the Executive to bypass the constraints of traditional Services. a true representation of Space Command’s successful establishment will be observed when it is considered as part of Australia’s national power and used as such by the Government.

Welcome once again back on the rollercoaster!

Education is highly valued in the Air Force, with the acquisition of highly specialised skills and expertise being an integral component of one's career progression. Training comes in various forms, including mandatory, specialist, on-the-job, and professional military education. In addition to these forms of training, members of the Air Force have access to opportunities for scholarship, where they can apply for graduate programs at Masters and PhD level through civilian universities. These programs afford individuals the chance to focus on a particular "problem" for Defence, dedicating an extended period of time to research and scholarship.

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.

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.