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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.

Articles
Knitted Hat Lying among Debris in Ukrainian City. Image source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/knitted-hat-lying-among-debris-in-ukrainian-city-11477794/
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.

Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Officers prepare to depart Honiara on an Australian Defence Force MRH-90 Taipan helicopter bound for the outlying provinces of Gizo, Ringii and Seghe in the Solomon Islands prior to the National Government Election.
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.

5/7RAR28AUG03NR01 DATE 28 AUG 03 Photo by LCPL Neil Ruskin A Leopard Tank from the 1st Armoured Regiment ploughs through the dust of Shoalwater Bay Training Area to take part in an armoured battle group assault during Exercise Predators Gallop 2003.
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.

OP 14 cover with artwork by Will Longstaff, Night attack by 13th Brigade on Villers-Bretonneux, 24-25 Apr 1918
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.

Australian Civil Military Centre (ACMC) logo
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.
Submissions close on 3 March 2023.

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.
Occasional Paper 13 suggests that as the war-peace paradigm is replaced by a more fluid competition-conflict spectrum, SOF must adjust to a campaign approach that seeks to leverage the poles of low and high technology while maintaining their mid-tech capabilities. This would allow SOF to generate cost-efficient and enduring options that establish asymmetry against the increasing technological capability of competitors.

Promo for AAJ Vol XVIII - 1/22
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.

Promo image for Paper, People Procedures and Professionalisation
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.
In a well considered and timely analysis, he identifies the key challenges and opportunities for change, recommending a way forward based on his years of practical experience.

Cover of Spotlight Brief 3-22
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.

Cover image for Blood, Metal and Dust - 1200x675
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.

A U.S. Marine with 3d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Ground Combat Element, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin 22, manoeuvres through RAAF Base Curtin during an airfield seizure event as part of Exercise Koolendong 2022.
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.

Cover of book, Military Adaptation in War, with cover image blurred in background
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.

Promo image for book Flesh and Steel with an image of the cover in the centre
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.

Promo image for book The 48th Division
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.

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.

Promo cover for Get Tough Stay Tough
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.

Australian Army Brigadier Kahlil Fegan, DSC, (centre left) at the Army Robotics Expo and Quantum Technology Challenge at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
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.

Promo image for book, Like a Brazen Wall
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.

Australian Army soldier Private Jyren Doria from the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, patrols during Exercise Kapyong Warrior at Townsville Field Training Area, Queensland.
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.

Australian Army soldiers from the 3rd Battalion The Royal Australian Regiment prepare for a dawn raid on a suspected insurgent position at the Tully Training Area on July 17 during Exercise Hamel 2014.
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.

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