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Decreasing Reliance on Fossil Fuels to Increase Defence Capability

Benjamin Cole
Australian Defence Force

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.

Unlike defensive air operations which are reactive, offensive air operations are undertaken where and when an air force chooses.

The main theme of the 2026 Air and Space Power Conference was “building fighting depth” and the Aviator Symposium was “the airminded warfighter.” However, a question that came up repeatedly during the event was “what success actually looks like”? Instead of asking what success looks like now, ask what it would look like decades from now if these ideas had truly taken hold.

Space Weather: A Potential Threat?

Sitra Khan
Australian Defence Force

Professional military education is not just box ticking for promotion—a continuum of air and space power education is required to build professional mastery and maintain professional currency.