Technology usually follows a certain progression – first the device gets more features before it reduces in size. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) fill this description perfectly, and we have yet to come up with an adequate defence for them.
As Air Force starts its second century of operation, so too has the entity charged with thinking about air power been reborn.
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.
April 2021 Air and Space Power Seminar
This presentation will highlight the challenges that aviation operations are facing today and describe a new UNSW Canberra research project on auto
Underpinning modernisation efforts in the Australian and US Air Forces is the shared recognition that success in the future battle space depends fo
Access to foreign bases has long been a critical enabler of the ADF, and ongoing access will be key to Australia’s future security. In the past, these Forward Operating Bases (FOB) were considered relatively secure, however continual improvements to the range and accuracy of missiles acquired by adversarial militaries have made these bases attractive targets, being the seemingly soft underbelly of western militaries.
In order to continue utilisation of FOBs, and to guarantee the safety of deployed forces, the ADF cannot remain idle to the threat of advanced air and missile attacks. As such Australia must look to develop its Air and Missile Defence (AMD) capabilities in order to remain secure in future operations.
The aim of the essay is to discuss a range of AMD design and operating concepts to inform the development of an ADF Integrated AMD (IAMD) capability.
This essay will be structured into four key areas: western nations’ historical and future reliance on FOBs to project power; the emerging threat of powerful state and non-state actors; Australia’s response to emerging air and missile threats; and, IAMD design and operational concepts in an Australian context.
The RAAF has evolved as an Air Force based on the lessons of 20th century Air Power to become a ‘model’ mid-sized Air Force with an exquisite, mode
