23 September 2018 Chris McInnes explores the role of cognition in warfare and asks whether we understand the types of cognition needed in the future, and what we might be able to learn from other disciplines. On 9 June 1982, the Israel Air Force (IAF) destroyed 87 Syrian military aircraft and 17 out of 19 [...]
09 September 2018 Robert Vine continues his exploration of the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) future challenges and options for controlling the air by drawing on history to ask whether current training and exercises are optimised for fighting in contested skies. Part one of this series outlined the challenge facing the ADF in an environment where [...]
22 August 2018 On 23 August 2018, the Sir Richard Williams Foundation is holding a seminar on #jointstrike to discuss the imperative for an independent deterrent. The aim of the seminar is to build a common understanding of the need for an independent joint strike capability to provide Australia with a powerful and potent deterrent [...]
15 Jul 2018 Olsen, John Andreas (ed.) 2018, Routledge Handbook of Air Power, 1st edition, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London; New York. Air power is a big topic and this is a big book. The Routledge Handbook of Air Power features some thirty well-researched, cutting-edge essays written by highly-regarded experts in their particular specialist [...]
27 May 2018 In the third post of a four-part series on air power and strategy, Peter Layton reminds us that strategy is just an idea. Part One in the series, examining the need to define ends, can be found here and Part Two, considering the competition, can be found here. In earlier posts (here [...]
13 May 2018 In the first post of a four-part series on air power and strategy, Peter Layton discusses the importance of defining objectives to strategy-making. Strategy and air power confuse many, both in and out of uniform. Over four posts we’ll discuss how the two relate; mainly trying to make clear the concept [...]
In this post, Alan Stephens argues the case for military professionals to read history - not for 'lessons' or details, but to appreciate the influence and importance of context in planning and making decisions. According to Stephens, "people who do not read good history cannot achieve professional mastery in the full meaning of the term." [...]
On 18 February 2018, we published the introduction to our first series examining #highintensitywar in partnership with our good friends at From Balloons to Drones. On 15 April 2018 we published the 19th and final piece in the series. The series supported the Williams Foundation’s 23 March seminar that examined the requirements of high [...]
15 April 2018 Editorial Note: Between February and April 2018, The Central Blue and From Balloons to Drones, will be publishing a series of articles that examine the requirements of high-intensity warfare in the 21st Century. These articles provide the intellectual underpinnings to a seminar on high-intensity warfare held on 22 March by the Williams [...]
