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As the integration of cyber networks reaches full saturation within the deployed environment, the time that cyber defenders and a cyber network defence framework should have been put in place has already passed. This leaves our networks and the missions reliant on those networks for command, control and communications vulnerable to exploitation by any number of adversaries within the battlespace. With  governments around the world  spending billions of dollars on the implementation of cyber defence …

"Our subordinates are from the digital and “sharing economy” generation where disruptive technologies and practices routinely replace traditional services. When our subordinates comfortably use the largest transport company in the world which has no cars and the largest accommodation provider which has no property we need to do more to harness the agility embodied in our workforce and their comfort with technology and change."   - Commander Forces Command, Major General McLachlan, 2017 As the proportion of …

A Submission to the Chief of Army’s ‘Contest of Ideas’ The basis of this submission is this cover note and the enclosed short paper authored by Dr Albert Palazzo and myself in 2016 titled  Coming to Terms with the Modern Way of War: Precision Missiles and the Land Component of Australia’s Joint Force . Much of the Western military’s attention has focussed on developments in particular technological fields such as cyber, space, artificial intelligence and hypersonics; but, by focussing on the parts we may …

How can a large organisation, deeply rooted in tradition, order, and control, purposefully embrace change? Add to this eternal test the complexity of rapidly evolving technology and the challenges compound. The ability of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to master the technologies associated with network-centric warfare (NCW) will largely shape its destiny. The implementation of NCW cuts deep, right to the organisational, social and cultural roots that underpin the entire Defence organisation. NCW …

Like other Western military forces, the ADF has used deployments since Vietnam to develop appropriate mechanisms to support media access to its operations. The ADF’s advances in this regard, like those of the US and UK, are almost solely linked to political and strategic direction issued on the cusp of operational deployments requiring last-minute adjustments to policy, procedures and processes. The nature of the ADF’s recent commitments to larger, long-term coalition operations has allowed commanders and …

There is need for the Australian Army and its logisticians to address the transformation of its logistics capabilities, concepts and processes. This is not only because Army must look to the future and the ever-changing face of war, nor is it because of revelations gained through nearly twenty years of operational experiences. It is not simply because the Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, directed his senior logisticians to lead a ‘revolution’ in late 2016 or that Army’s balance of forces …

As the Australian Army seeks to understand the institutional lessons of its last 15 operationally intensive years, it is timely to examine the concept of expeditionary warfare — an idea fundamental to the Australian approach to war. This examination becomes increasingly necessary as Defence progresses in its development of Australia's 'Maritime Strategy', a strategic policy approach based upon an operational concept proposed to Sir Julian Corbett in 1914.  Expeditionary warfare is a contentious idea and …

Every soldier has an individual responsibility to study the profession of arms. A soldier without either interest in, or knowledge of, the history and theory of warfare - the intellectual content of the military profession - is a soldier in appearance only. ( LWD 1, The Fundamentals of Land Power, 2014 ) As a learning organisation, Army must have robust frameworks for ongoing development and continued education programs to ensure knowledgeable and competent staff. The  2016 Ryan Review  is a good start and …

Whether you’re interested by new drone technology, quantum computing or the latest mobile phone tech, this month’s METS has something for you. BIRD DRONES? THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN DRONE TECHNOLOGY   A  RMIT research team  with support from the Defence Science and Technology Group have developed a drone that is based on bird flight patterns. By using the same air currents used by birds, the drone can stay in the air for longer and have an extended flight range. The ‘bird’ drone in contrast to the current …

The  Professional Standards Councils  suggest that ‘a profession positions itself as possessing special knowledge and skills… [and] is prepared to apply this… in the interest of others’. When considering many professions, the uniting principle that defines them is relatively easy to discern. For medical practitioners it is understanding the human body; for lawyers, a nation’s law codes – these provide a unifying start point for the development of more specialised expertise. However, what is the specialist …