Category: Australian Land Forces

September 10, 2018

Australian Army builds drone air force

“Army is Australia’s biggest and most experienced user of drones,” claimed General Angus Campbell when Chief of Army. The facts support him. Air Force is out of the drone business until next decade when...

Australian Land Forces

September 10, 2018

Nuclear weapons and U.S. national security

Several themes in the Trump Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) demonstrate that Washington has an increased determination to make nuclear weapons more useful in pursuit of its national security interests. An unclassified version of...

Australian Land Forces

September 10, 2018

Currawong’ achieves IOC

The Australian Defence Force’s Integrated Battle Telecommunications Network (I-BTN) capability has achieved the Initial operational Capability (IOC) milestone for the Initial Material Release of equipment. The I-BTN is being delivered by Boeing Defence Australia...

Australian Land Forces

September 10, 2018

Battlefield mobility in the amphibious domain

The Australian Defence Force’s battlefield aviation capability achieved a major milestone in the littoral domain recently, with the successful employment of Army’s battlefield mobility helicopters as part of an Amphibious Task Group (ATG). The...

Australian Land Forces

September 10, 2018

Robot Wars: UGVs on the battlefield

Robots are reaching the land battlefield. The technology involved was already becoming more capable and robust, but the Iraq War significantly boosted robotic development. The large-scale use of improvised explosive devices (IED) by insurgents...

Australian Land Forces

September 10, 2018

Amphibious Warfare

Interview with Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Pashley Commanding Officer 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment Previously, one of the Australian Army’s general-purpose infantry units, the 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment Amphibious (2 RAR Amphib) is now...

Australian Land Forces

September 10, 2018

Hawkei enters Army service

The Australian Army’s new Hawkei protected mobility vehicle (PMV) is now becoming a familiar sight around the country, as low rate initial production of vehicles builds pace at Thales Australia’s manufacturing facility at Bendigo...

Australian Land Forces

September 10, 2018

Syria, Iran & Israel: Strike. Counter-Strike. Repeat.

In the first half of 2018 the militaries of Israel and Iran have escalated the confrontation between their two countries, using Syria as the battleground. Last February, an Iranian Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) crossed...

Pentagon scrambles to bolster war readiness with aging aircraft fleet October 15, 2018
The Defense Department is scrambling for ways to ensure the U.S. military’s fleet of warplanes is able to fly and fight when called upon, despite a string of accidents over the past several months. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis recently took the unprecedented step of demanding an 80 percent readiness rate for all military aircraft, […]
MoD secrets exposed in dozens of cyber security breaches October 15, 2018
Ministry of Defence secrets were exposed in dozens of breaches of military cyber security policy last year, as hostile nations and spy agencies continue to probe the UK's defence sector. Heavily redacted reports obtained by Sky News have revealed that the MoD and its partners failed to protect military and defence data in 37 incidents […]
IBM Rolls Out Industry's First Cybersecurity Operations Center on Wheels October 15, 2018
IBM (NYSE: IBM) Security today announced the industry's first mobile Security Operations Center, capable of traveling onsite for cybersecurity training, preparedness, and response. The IBM X-Force Command Cyber Tactical Operations Center (C-TOC) will travel around the U.S. and Europe, running incident response drills with clients, providing on-demand cybersecurity support, and building cybersecurity awareness and skills […]
Australia needs a clear national security strategy October 14, 2018
Bob Moyse’s recent piece for The Strategist raises a number of issues that are vital for the future of Australia’s security. He argues that debates about force structure have, until recently, largely been focused at the tactical level. This has resulted, he argues, in ‘an incoherent force structure’ that has been ‘winning battles and losing […]
REVEALED: Department of Defence has been using motherboards with alleged Chinese spy chips in them for the last TEN YEARS October 14, 2018
Sensitive defence department information may have been compromised after a Chinese company was accused of implanting surveillance chips in their motherboards. The ABC reports that tender documents show the Department of Defence and Bureau of Meteorology bought computer hardware from Supermicro which has allegedly been planting spy chips in their products.
Hands-on Robotics Training in Australia October 14, 2018
Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) has begun training students to operate their new Saab Seaeye Falcon remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV). This follows Falcon training for CSIRO staff at the organization’s facility in Hobart, Tasmania, by BlueZone, Saab Seaeye’s distributor in the region.
Japan Offers to Build Australia’s $50 Billion Submarine Fleet If French Deal Falls Through October 13, 2018
Japan is prepared to sell its submarines to Australia should protracted negotiations between state-owned French shipbuilder Naval Group and the Australian government for the construction of 12 French-designed diesel-electric boats collapse, according to Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono. “That’s possible – but it’s up to the Australian government to decide,” ..
Realigning the Australian Army October 13, 2018
The Australian Army is spending up big, announcing a $5.2bn contract for more than 200 Boxers (armoured reconnaissance vehicles from Rheinmetall, as opposed to Boxster of the Porsche variety), while also releasing a tender for another 450 even bigger and better armoured personnel carriers. While good for Australian industry and the winning states where the […]
U.S. Army completes testing on Raytheon-built upgraded Stinger missile October 13, 2018
U.S. Army engineers completed qualification testing for a new proximity fuze that enhances the Raytheon-build Stinger missile. During recent testing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, the weapon system scored a 100 percent hit rate against a variety of targets. The missiles were shoulder- and vehicle-launched. The new proximity fuze enables the lightweight, self-contained […]