The Land Power Forum blog is published by the Australian Army Research Centre in order to generate discussion and debate about the future of Army.
It is a forum for informed analysis, commentary, thoughts and ideas. Contributions are welcomed from stakeholders, subject matter experts and those interested in future land warfare.
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Can the Robots Save the City?
Hybrid WarfareEmerging Threats and OpportunitiesAccelerated Warfare |
This article briefly discusses the central ethical tensions between the objections raised against the use of lethal autonomous weapons generally and the potential of lethal autonomous weapons to mitigate some of the key challenges of urban warfare. Originating from the premise that the ethics of war is an ongoing negotiation between recognising the necessity of war and minimising its destructiveness, the article argues that the ethics of using lethal autonomous weapons in urban warfare cannot be appropriately weighed without a reasonable sense of what operational impact they are likely to have. |
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AARC Short Thoughts Competition – Winter Series 2023
ModernisationArmy & SocietyArmy in Motion |
The Australian Army Research Centre (AARC) invites your contribution to the Winter Series of the AARC Short Thoughts Competition with the theme: ‘Army’s Role in Train, Advise and Assist Missions’. This is your opportunity to help further Australian land power debate. Submissions will be published in the Land Power Forum (LPF) and Defence authors of the most meritorious entries will be invited to attend an Army sponsored event in 2023 and will also be awarded a book voucher. |
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Are we Ready to Fight the Next War?
Landpower lessonsReady NowModernisation |
This article reviews the readiness of three Army force packages: the Armoured Battle Group, Ground Based Air Defence and the Reconnaissance Battle Group. Mark Mankowski asks whether the deficiencies that were identified in these force options twenty years ago have now been addressed. |
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Land Warfare, an introduction
Cognitive edgeLand combatMilitary theory |
In this Occasional Paper, Dr Albert Palazzo provides an introduction to the concept of land warfare, including its nature, character and how it adapts to the evolving strategic environment. Intended as a primer, this work aims to provide a start-point for a career-long journey of study and reflection on the topic. |
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Australian Civil Military Centre Invites Project Proposals
Civil-Military RelationsEmerging Threats and OpportunitiesHuman Security |
The Australian Civil Military Centre (ACMC) is seeking project proposals and scholarly articles from interested researchers and authors. This Post shares a Call for Proposals recently issued by the ACMC that identifies research themes and submission guidelines. Completed research will be published in the ACMC Research Compendium. |
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Exploiting the Technological Spectrum to Generate SOF Value in Strategic Competition
Hybrid WarfareLand combatMajor power competition |
The use of Special Operations Forces (SOF) in recent conflicts has entrenched the perception of these elements as a direct-action tool capable of providing decisive effects. Concomitantly, there has been an increasing reliance on technological solutions to generate asymmetry against existing threats. |
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Australian Army Journal, Volume XVIII, Number 1
TrainingFuture ReadyCognitive edge |
This edition of the Australian Army Journal (AAJ) examines the foundations of professional mastery and doctrine, and reinforces the proposition that how we think inevitably affects how we perform. |
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People, Procedures and Professionalisation
Information WarfareForce DesignPeople, Culture and Ethics |
In Occasional Paper 12, Jason Logue addresses the imperative for evolution in the ADF's approach to operations in the information environment. |
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Spotlight Brief 3/22 is released
Major power competitionUrban conflictLandpower lessons |
This Spotlight Brief examines Russia’s combined-arms approach during its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. To provide context, it discusses the primary Russian tactical unit of action, the Battalion Tactical Group. It subsequently explores a range of observations on the application of combined-arms at the tactical level during the initial phases of the invasion. It concludes by offering a number of deductions pertinent to the Australian Army’s own application of combined-arms. |
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Book Review - Blood, Metal and Dust
Book reviewLandpower lessonsMilitary history |
As reviewer Al Palazzo observes, while Ben Barry's book 'Blood, Metal and Dust' is not a definitive piece of work, it hits the highlights of the US and British military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan respectively. |
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Allies LSCO & the INDOPACIFIC
Emerging Threats and OpportunitiesMajor power competitionOur Region |
This post is a transcript of a speech delivered by Major General Chris Smith to the US Army Maneuver War Fighter Conference on 17 February 2022. In it, Smith reflects on elements of the debate in Australia about the potential for war in the Indo-Pacific and its implications for land forces. |
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Book Review - Military Adaptation in War
Book reviewMilitary historyLandpower lessons |
Williamson Murray reviews five case studies of military adaptation in warfare and draws out lessons for the modern military. Reviewer Chris Roberts commends the book and its appeal to military leaders to inform preparedness planning with the critical and honest appraisal of previous battlefield performance. |
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Book Review - Flesh and Steel During the Great War
Book reviewLandpower lessonsMilitary history |
A product of Michael Goya’s doctoral thesis, Chris Roberts reviews the work of the former Colonel of the French marine infantry as easily read, and a superb study of the transformation of the French Army during the Great War. |
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Book review - The 48th (South Midland) Division 1908-1919
Book reviewLandpower lessonsMilitary history |
Chris Roberts review highlights Mitchinson’s comprehensive study of a solid, yet unremarkable division that had its origins in the creation of the Territorial Force (TF) in 1908. The 48th (South Midland) Division 1908-1919 provides a very worthy history of that effort that will appeal to those with an interest in the Great War. |
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Evolving Geo-strategic Dynamics (Spotlight Brief 6/21)
Strategic AnalysisSpotlight BriefEmerging Threats and Opportunities |
In tone with the recent CAS2022 this 2021 legacy Spotlight Brief emphasises issues relating to robotics and autonomous systems (RAS). Highlighting the Army's commitment to expanding this capability, with unprecedented funding and support within Force Structure Plan 2020 and advanced trials across maritime, land, air, and cyber domains. In addition, Army is expanding its cognitive capability in these fields, spearheaded by the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Implementation and Coordination Office (RICO) within Future Land Warfare Branch. Spotlight Brief 6/21 explicitly reflects some of the challenges that Army and the Joint Force are tackling in their efforts to bring uncrewed and autonomous platforms into the battlespace. |
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Book review - Get Tough, Stay Tough
Book reviewLandpower lessonsMilitary history |
Chris Roberts introduces a well-researched book that considers the Canadian performance on the Western Front through a slightly different lens. The study is commended as well-rounded and still significant today and is highly recommended reading for military officers. |
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A preview of Quantum Technology Challenge 2022
Quantum TechnologyEmerging TechnologiesRICO |
A big thank you to all the teams and exhibitors involved in the successful conduct of Army’s Quantum Technology Challenge 2022 held in Adelaide earlier this month. Stand by for an in-depth announcement and review of the challenge on the Army Land Power forum soon. |
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Book Review - Like A Brazen Wall
Book reviewLandpower lessonsMilitary history |
BRIG Chris Roberts AM, CSC (Retd.) finds that Carmichael's book on the Battle of Minden provides a wealth of information about the campaign, including the culminating battle, and sheds useful light on this aspect of the Seven Years War as it affected Great Britain. |
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The Division
Force DesignFuture ReadyArmy in Motion |
Duncan Foster discusses the ADF’s increasingly complex contemporary battlespace, emphasis on state versus state competition and potential conflict. Highlighting that now is the time to rethink Army’s structure; to best prepare it for the future. |
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The Requirements of Training Insurgent Tactics
Land combatgrey zoneIrregular WarfareTransforming Land Power |
For the ADF to deter and disrupt an invasion and occupation of Australia, it is necessary to arm and train our force to conduct asymmetric warfare against an occupying enemy. Ian Richards explores why. |
Pagination
The Australian Army Research Centre welcomes contributions to foster debate.