Are manned fighters obsolete?

Elon Musk has told an American Air Force conference that ‘the fighter jet era has passed’. The British Defence Minister Duncan Sandys said the same thing in 1957, launching a disastrous white paper which destroyed much of the British aircraft industry. Is Musk right this time? Or is he making the same mistake of 63 years ago?

Spy games in space

Space is ‘contested, congested and competitive’ and superpower conflicts in orbit are intensifying, with Russian, Chinese and American craft trailing and even threatening each other.

Australia needs a northern launch platform

Australia is well placed to launch payloads into space from its far north, given its proximity to the equator, and a northern launch centre could help boost the nation’s space and technology industry.

Will “Space 2.0” lead to conflict in orbit?

The use of cube-sats and other low cost options in orbit could see a range of nation states expand their military options in orbit.

Space 2060

Australia must make sure that its interests are protected as the major powers establish some kind of rules-based order for a new era in human space activity.

An Australian space defence force?

What might warfare in space look like and what should the Australian Defence Force be doing to prepare?

Tackling the cyber threat to satellites

The Australian Defence Force depends heavily on satellite communications but these systems are increasingly vulnerable to attacks by hostile states and terrorist hackers.

Get on board with unmanned systems

The Department of Defence needs to consider the role of unmanned systems, not just as a niche capability akin to a small recoverable torpedo, but as an entirely new class of primary military capability for the Australian Defence Force.

Getting into space with Artemis

Australia is set to play a crucial role in NASA’s planned return to the moon in 2024, however despite the excitement surrounding the new ‘space race’, there is no certainty that the mission will go ahead.

Beijing’s show of military might is a wake-up call for Australia

The massive military parade on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China was a clear demonstration of China’s increasing desire to project power across the Pacific.

Australia’s moonshot

In another sign that the government is serious about supporting new Australian endeavours in space, the Australian Space Agency and NASA will cooperate on the ‘Artemis’ project to return astronauts to the moon in 2024.

The Saudi oil strike shows the new way of war

Australia’s defence planners must learn the lessons the attack on Abqaiq teach us about the risks of sticking with traditional mindsets and maintaining old paradigms in the face of rapid changes in warfare.