Australian Aviation

Air Force’s strategic plan for the next decade While we are very close to releasing Air Force’s Strategy 2016-2026, I have to admit that we have arrived at this point by a round-about route. The journey started earlier this year when I sat down with my key staff and outlined my requirement for a communications

Australia’s next fighter jet has passed a critical milestone with the US Air Force declaring the Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter “combat ready” In a move seemingly aimed at both allaying critics and signalling intent to potential adversaries, the US Air Force has declared its first squadron of F-35As combat ready, theoretically making the

Big data and the risk of big hacking It’s a brave new world of information technology (IT) that’s getting more complex by the day. From basic computers we’ve moved on to the cloud, the internet of things and big data. For airlines, having the latest computer systems in virtually every part of the business is

Airport drinking faces a dry future The mayhem caused by boozed-up passengers is back in the news, with the United Kingdom’s aviation minister Tariq Ahmed stating his intentions to look into the current regime of airport bars, duty free alcohol sales and onboard licensed drinks in order to cut down on disruptive passengers. Some of

The imperative of leveraging cyber and space During the RAAF’s major biennial conference “Multi-domain Integration” held earlier this year, Defence Minister Senator Marise Payne stated that in order to maximise the Air Force’s present and future capabilities, systems must be networked and integrated to a degree not previously achieved. Air, land and maritime forces must

Perspectives from when the shoe is on the other foot From time to time aircrew have the opportunity to see the world from the other side of the cockpit door. Generally, it is dead-heading to another port, or less frequently as a holidaying passenger, albeit at the mercy of standby seats and staff travel. Even