The government’s headline $7 billion counter-drone plan is largely smoke and mirrors, spreading funds over a decade into legacy systems while leaving Australia underprepared for high-volume drone warfare, argues Michael Shoebridge.

As travel through the Middle East plummets amid the Iran conflict, airlines and their passengers are looking back towards Southeast Asia to connect Australia and Europe – and Kuala Lumpur could be well-positioned to capitalise on the pivot and become a major connecting hub, as Jake Nelson discovered.

Cities like the Gold Coast, New York, and Dubai are going all-in on eVTOLs and advanced air mobility – but amid all the hype, Jake Nelson asks, will we really see autonomous “air taxis” zipping around our skies in the next few years?

In this section of the magazine, our contributors offer their thoughts and insights into industry issues that matter most to them. In this issue, Jake Nelson asks whether air taxis by the Brisbane Games are just pie in the sky, Steve Kuper cautions against junking Australia’s fleet of C-27J Spartans too early, and Robert Dougherty