The Edge

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine – Five Lessons for Taiwan

Beijing is closely watching the West’s response to the 24 February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine for its own plans regarding the eventual subjugation of the independent country of Taiwan. The West’s desultory response to the crisis has revealed plain vulnerabilities and false assumptions about what the West would likely do in the event of an amphibious invasion or blockade of Taiwan by mainland China.

Lessons for Military Planning in 21st Century Warfare

The Future is here! 5th Generation Air Force

The F-35 heralds a revolution in how the ADF will fight, as units learn to integrate with 5th Generation technologies and operate as a network, leveraging stealth and information fusion. This article explores the ‘night versus day’ change, which opens the door for related opportunities including man-machine teaming and the ‘loyal wingman’ concept.

ADFA Presentation 2019 – General Sir Peter Cosgrove, AK, MC

The Governor-General of Australia, General Sir Peter Cosgrove, AK, MC, addresses ADFA staff and trainees

Thoughts from The Edge

Mick Ryan is the Commander of the Australian Defence College. This column from Ryan and his contributors focusses on intellectually preparing members of the profession of arms for strategic competition and future conflict.

Is AI Really a Threat to Humanity?

This article comments on the impact of Cognitive Bias, found in AI systems, on our future. It provides the examples of the biased systems and asks the fundamental questions on our strategy going forward. The article is suitable for all the levels of JMPE continuum, and will be of interest to those particularly interested in Cognitive computing or Artificial Intelligence.

Glimpse: How Electronic Tattoos Will Change The World — And Ourselves

Scientists have developed a means to 3D print electronics onto the skin as a form of wearable technology akin to a tattoo. It is proposed that further development of this technology will allow these tattoos to monitor our vitals, and feed us personalized health advice in real time.

Queryable Earth: A Searchable database of Earth

What if you could search the surface of the Earth the same way you search the internet? Will Marshall and his team at Planet use the world's largest fleet of satellites to image the entire Earth every day. Now they're moving on to a new project: using AI to index all the objects on the planet over time -- which could make ships, trees, houses and everything else on Earth searchable, the same way you search Google. He shares a vision for how this database can become a living record of the immense physical changes happening across the globe. "You can't fix what you can't see," Marshall says. "We want to give people the tools to see change and take action."

CDLE Leadership Paper 2 - 2018

The CDLE Leadership Paper 2-2018 is Anne Goyne and the CDLE team addressing issues around negative leadership. The paper is couched in terms of a range of events including the JEDI Council, the ADFA skype incident, the F111 deseal/reseal, the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce (DART) and the associated findings, which relate to many negative experiences of ADF personnel. The paper goes on to explore why the ADF culture has such negative leadership experiences and what to do about it.

Understanding Why a Ground Combat Vehicle That Carries Nine Dismounts Is Important to the Army

The Army has examined the lessons of half a dozen significant conflicts, starting with World War II, has conducted numerous studies over the last 65 years, and has found time and again that an ability to conduct dismounted fire and maneuver is the fundamental squad-level tactic.

Development of an Algorithm for Calculating the ‘Risk’ of Terrorist CBRN

In order to avert a disaster from a terrorist chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attack, it is important to study the likelihood of terrorists using CBRN weapons. This study reports on the development of an algorithm for calculating the ‘risk’ of a terrorist seeking CBRN weaponry with 67.3 percent prediction accuracy.

A 3D Atlas of the Universe

For the last 12 years, Carter Emmart has been coordinating the efforts of scientists, artists and programmers to build a complete 3D visualization of our known universe. He demos this stunning tour and explains how it's being shared with facilities around the world. The 3D representation of the Earth and the Space around it will be a key technology for ADF to achieve comprehensive situational awareness of the world in the near future.