Royal Australian Navy Discussions and Updates 2.0

[StingrayOZ]

Stingray, where did you find that image? It's awesome.

Yeh, AI is both terrible and hilarious. I find it interesting to mock up images.

Looking into the playschool window of what ifs..
Anyone keeping track of the F110 Flight II?

I presume this is what Spain was really offering when they offered us to build more Hobart destroyers.

	Hobart class, upgraded	F110 Flight II / IAMD
Full-load displacement	~7,000 t	~6,700 t
Length	146.7 m	~150 m
Beam	18.6 m	18.6 m
Speed	28+ kt	>29 kt
Published range	4,500 nmi @ 18 kt	~4,100 nmi @ 15 kt
Crew	~180 nominal	~170 + 37 mission/command
Main VLS	48 × Mk 41 Strike Length	48 × Strike + 16 × Tactical = 64
Main radar	AN/SPY-1D(V)	AN/SPY-7(V)2, 100 SAS/face
Combat system	Full Aegis Baseline 9 + Australian Interface	SCOMBA + Aegis IAFCL + CEC
Area AAW	SM-2 IIIC, SM-6	SM-2; ESSM; other integration possible
Land strike	Tomahawk integrated	Strike-length cells physically suitable, but Tomahawk integration not announced
Anti-ship	8 × NSM	8 × NSM
ASW sonar	Hull + towed-array system	BlueMaster + CAPTAS-4 Compact VDS
Propulsion	CODOG	quiet CODLAG
Helicopter	MH-60R	MH-60R/NH90
Main gun	Mk 45 Mod 4 127 mm	OTO 127/64 LW
Close defence	Phalanx + Nulka + ESSM	30-mm systems + ESSM + decoys; DEW/C-UAS planned
Mission bay	Limited	Dedicated multi-mission space

I like hunter and mogami. But we have only 3 Destroyers and will continue to do so for a long, long time. But man, that would have been nice to have 2-3 of these. 64 VLS, essentially same layout and systems as Hobart in a similar evolved hull.

I feel if we had gone with that not only would we have things coming to the fleet right now as we are decommissioning ships, but the capabilities would have been welcomed.

We would be getting our first ship next year.

 

[iambuzzard]

Or we the RAN can look at this

Japan Unveils the World’s Most Expensive Seaplanes Ever Built

Japan is launching the world’s most expensive seaplanes ever built, featuring advanced technologies and remarkable design to enhance military and Arctic operations.

www.theasianwallstreet.com

They have been in service first as the Military PS-1 Anti-Submarine Flying Boat and De-Militarised US-1 Air-Sea Rescue Amphibian.
Japan have a brilliant program of innovation and upgrading platforms over time as we are seeing with the Evolved Mogami we are getting.
As I have mentioned before, we need to continue a similar program with our own shipbuilding. Move on to an upgraded version after our initial 11. Rotate out the older platforms and replace them with upgrades. Or even better, increase our numbers for a simple fix to the valley of death.

 

[Takao]

129s. ?

Cheers S

The various UAV projects.

Over the past 5 years there have been various LAND, SEA and DEF ones. Lots of movement, but......

 

[Takao]

The Mogami is cited as a mine warfare ship ,the rear opening appears large enough for other types of deployments ,I was thinking surface and sub surface drones is there any idea how large this rear crago hold is and if practical to make such a change

A fascinating claim - that I've run past some mine warfare or ASW PWOs to much amusement.

Sure, there is a stand-off capability. It'd be fine if you knew for sure where the edge of the minefield was, and you didn't have something else to do. And yes, frigates have been run through unknown areas to check if clear before (looks at the Falklands). But I'd be highly surprised if either us or the Japanese would actually chose to commit a Mogami to sweep or clear mines

 

[spoz]

The original Mogamis had a requirement for an MW capability in their op concept, which related specifically to the Japanese littoral. Not sure how that has been progressed; nor whether it was ever part of the Evolved requirement set which seems to have a much more blue water focus.

 

[Richo99]

Naval Group Begins Production of Sweden’s First FDI Frigate Just One Month After Contract Signing

The benefits of not australianising...

Naval Group Begins Production of Sweden's First FDI Frigate Just One Month After Contract Signing - Naval News

Naval Group begins production on the Royal Swedish Navy’s first FDI frigate, the FDI Luleå, in Lorient just one month after the contract was signed. Naval Group press release On 1st October 2026, the steel-cutting ceremony of the first Royal Swedish Navy Defence and Intervention Frigate, FDI...

www.navalnews.com

 

[StingrayOZ]

Both Canberra class are out of action..
Broken, propulsion related, possibly due to high tempo of operations and deferred maintenance. Good thing we acquire sustainable numbers of platforms that can accept the high tempo of operations.

Its almost like 150 days + 240 Days + extended deployments is too much for a single platform in a year when maintenance gets deferred..

 

[seaspear]

A fascinating claim - that I've run past some mine warfare or ASW PWOs to much amusement.

Sure, there is a stand-off capability. It'd be fine if you knew for sure where the edge of the minefield was, and you didn't have something else to do. And yes, frigates have been run through unknown areas to check if clear before (looks at the Falklands). But I'd be highly surprised if either us or the Japanese would actually chose to commit a Mogami to sweep or clear mines

I took the mine warfare capability as to the laying of mines ,I could understand Japan using that capability but was not sure where the RAN would use this

 

[Stampede]

Both Canberra class are out of action..
Broken, propulsion related, possibly due to high tempo of operations and deferred maintenance. Good thing we acquire sustainable numbers of platforms that can accept the high tempo of operations.

Its almost like 150 days + 240 Days + extended deployments is too much for a single platform in a year when maintenance gets deferred..

I think the quote from the Defence minister back when the Canberras were ordered and Navy’s firm push for a third ship was suggested was
“They are out of control “

Personally I think they are one of the ADFs best assets along with the supply ships.
Should of got three of each.

As the medium and Heavy landing craft targets, sorry vessels come into service, I wonder what the intended future for our big ships will look like
as we appear to be prioritising the smaller stuff.

HMAS Choules replacement?????

It’s was nice seeing a LHD and it’s watercraft doing stuff up in Darwin the other month.
Well done

Suggest active ships need love!

Cheers S

 

[StingrayOZ]

I took the mine warfare capability as to the laying of mines ,I could understand Japan using that capability but was not sure where the RAN would use this

Wasn't that part of the mission that the Japanese were using the previous class of ships for. Although these days I presume its less about laying stationary mines like WW1 and WW2. I think that is why the Japanese have gone so hard on dismounted systems and sensors as that is where they see that space going. But Japan has lots of mine laying capability as it was a key part of their strategy.

Personally I think they are one of the ADFs best assets along with the supply ships.

Well we certainly get a lot of use of them.
Heres a list:

Year	Ship	Major activity	What it did
2016	Canberra	Operation Fiji Assist – Cyclone Winston	First overseas HADR deployment. Carried ~60 tonnes of relief supplies, three MRH-90s and roughly 760–880 personnel. Engineers restored infrastructure, cleared debris, purified water and supported recovery.
2017	Canberra	Talisman Sabre 2017	Centre of the Australian amphibious force. The Canberra/Choules/NZ force conducted what Defence described as Australia's biggest amphibious landing since the 1945 Borneo campaign.
2017	Adelaide	Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2017	Led a 1,200-person task group on a nearly three-month deployment through Southeast and Northeast Asia. Engagement covered Brunei, Cambodia, Micronesia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
2018	Adelaide	Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2018	Three-month Southwest Pacific deployment through Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu; training, HADR planning and regional military engagement.
2018	Adelaide	RIMPAC 2018	Went directly from IPE into RIMPAC. Amphibious operations with 25 other nations; embarked US Marine amphibious assault vehicles and multinational forces.
2019	Canberra	Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019	Led the ~1,000-person task force through Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia.
2019	Both	Sea Raider / Talisman Sabre 2019	Major milestone: both LHDs operated together as an amphibious force, coordinating two flight decks, two well docks, landing craft and multiple helicopter types.
2019	Adelaide	Operation Render Safe – Solomon Islands	Supported Australian/NZ/Solomon Islands teams locating and disposing of WWII unexploded ordnance around the western Solomon Islands.
2019	Adelaide	Fiji regional engagement	Amphibious air/surface exercises with the Republic of Fiji Military Forces and broader Pacific Step-up engagement.
2020	Canberra	Regional Presence Deployment	About three months deployed, exercising with US, Japanese and Singaporean forces across Southeast Asia and the Pacific despite COVID restrictions.
2020	Canberra	Micronesia search and rescue	Canberra's embarked Army helicopters located three men missing at sea for nearly three days
2020	Adelaide	Exercise Sea Wader	Large Army-Navy amphibious training activity, including vehicle landing operations and Australian and Singaporean Chinook integration.
2021	Canberra	Talisman Sabre 2021	Multinational amphibious force with Australian, US, Japanese and British troops operating from Canberra simultaneously.
2021	Canberra	Large Scale Global Exercise 21	Joined the US-led major Western Pacific exercise immediately after Talisman Sabre.
2021	Canberra	Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2021	Led the Australian task group through the region.
2021	Canberra	Exercise Bersama Gold	FPDA 50th-anniversary exercise around Singapore. These activities were effectively one near-five-month deployment from July to November.
2022	Adelaide	Operation Tonga Assist	Deployed at short notice after the Hunga Tonga eruption/tsunami. Arrived 26 January with 250+ pallets of relief stores, helicopters and engineering/logistics forces; delivered ~88 tonnes of humanitarian assistance before handover.
2022	Canberra	Operation Tonga Assist	Sailed out to relieve Adelaide, then delivered another ~150 tonnes of reconstruction equipment, vehicles, water infrastructure and emergency equipment.
2022	Canberra	Regional Presence Deployment / Noble Partners	Almost three months at sea. Exercised with US and Japanese forces en route across the Pacific.
2022	Canberra	RIMPAC 2022	Major amphibious participant with 25 other nations. Sustained USMC MV-22B operations from an Australian LHD for the first time.
2022	Canberra	Operation Render Safe – Nauru	On the return leg from RIMPAC, supported destruction of WWII unexploded ordnance off Nauru.
2022	Adelaide	Exercise Trident	Major Australia-Singapore amphibious exercise with 1,600+ personnel, two Singaporean LPDs and Adelaide.
2023	Canberra	Operation Vanuatu Assist	Deployed with 600+ personnel after Tropical Cyclones Judy and Kevin. Provided helicopters, landing craft, hospital capability, relief supplies, hydrographic work, route clearance and infrastructure restoration.
2023	Canberra	Talisman Sabre 2023	Hosted the exercise opening and then supported the large multinational amphibious component of the 13-nation exercise.
2023	Canberra	IPE23 / Exercise Alon – Philippines	Major bilateral Australian-Philippines amphibious operation. About 100 Filipino personnel embarked; USMC MV-22s operated from Canberra
2023	Adelaide	Exercise Balance Action	Worked with US Army Special Operations Command; hosted MH-47G Chinooks from the 160th SOAR for the first time.
2024	Adelaide	Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2024	Part of an engagement running from late August to December across 13 countries with more than 2,000 ADF personnel overall.
2024	Adelaide	Exercise Keris Woomera – Indonesia	Major Australian-Indonesian amphibious exercise involving about 2,000 personnel; TNI personnel embarked Adelaide for joint air, sea, land, amphibious and HADR training.
2025	Canberra	Talisman Sabre 2025	Canberra and Choules embarked 800+ additional personnel forming the Australian Amphibious Force, including allied US, Japanese, Korean and French forces.
2025	Adelaide	Talisman Sabre 2025	Hosted the formal opening of what became the largest Talisman Sabre yet;
2026	Canberra	Exercise Kakadu 2026	Used during the RAN's major multinational maritime exercise involving 19 nations and ~6,000 personnel,
2026	Canberra	Exercise Capital Reach	Embarked 350+ US Marines from MRF-D for integrated amphibious training

So for all the critisim about the ships being useless except for out of date amphibious assaults we seem to use them for pretty much everything. Not only that the operations that are often used for are big ship operations. thousands of personnel type of operations that small ships, would be complimentary, not replace that sort of capability.

 

[Stampede]

Wasn't that part of the mission that the Japanese were using the previous class of ships for. Although these days I presume its less about laying stationary mines like WW1 and WW2. I think that is why the Japanese have gone so hard on dismounted systems and sensors as that is where they see that space going. But Japan has lots of mine laying capability as it was a key part of their strategy.


Well we certainly get a lot of use of them.
Heres a list:

Year	Ship	Major activity	What it did
2016	Canberra	Operation Fiji Assist – Cyclone Winston	First overseas HADR deployment. Carried ~60 tonnes of relief supplies, three MRH-90s and roughly 760–880 personnel. Engineers restored infrastructure, cleared debris, purified water and supported recovery.
2017	Canberra	Talisman Sabre 2017	Centre of the Australian amphibious force. The Canberra/Choules/NZ force conducted what Defence described as Australia's biggest amphibious landing since the 1945 Borneo campaign.
2017	Adelaide	Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2017	Led a 1,200-person task group on a nearly three-month deployment through Southeast and Northeast Asia. Engagement covered Brunei, Cambodia, Micronesia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
2018	Adelaide	Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2018	Three-month Southwest Pacific deployment through Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu; training, HADR planning and regional military engagement.
2018	Adelaide	RIMPAC 2018	Went directly from IPE into RIMPAC. Amphibious operations with 25 other nations; embarked US Marine amphibious assault vehicles and multinational forces.
2019	Canberra	Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019	Led the ~1,000-person task force through Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia.
2019	Both	Sea Raider / Talisman Sabre 2019	Major milestone: both LHDs operated together as an amphibious force, coordinating two flight decks, two well docks, landing craft and multiple helicopter types.
2019	Adelaide	Operation Render Safe – Solomon Islands	Supported Australian/NZ/Solomon Islands teams locating and disposing of WWII unexploded ordnance around the western Solomon Islands.
2019	Adelaide	Fiji regional engagement	Amphibious air/surface exercises with the Republic of Fiji Military Forces and broader Pacific Step-up engagement.
2020	Canberra	Regional Presence Deployment	About three months deployed, exercising with US, Japanese and Singaporean forces across Southeast Asia and the Pacific despite COVID restrictions.
2020	Canberra	Micronesia search and rescue	Canberra's embarked Army helicopters located three men missing at sea for nearly three days
2020	Adelaide	Exercise Sea Wader	Large Army-Navy amphibious training activity, including vehicle landing operations and Australian and Singaporean Chinook integration.
2021	Canberra	Talisman Sabre 2021	Multinational amphibious force with Australian, US, Japanese and British troops operating from Canberra simultaneously.
2021	Canberra	Large Scale Global Exercise 21	Joined the US-led major Western Pacific exercise immediately after Talisman Sabre.
2021	Canberra	Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2021	Led the Australian task group through the region.
2021	Canberra	Exercise Bersama Gold	FPDA 50th-anniversary exercise around Singapore. These activities were effectively one near-five-month deployment from July to November.
2022	Adelaide	Operation Tonga Assist	Deployed at short notice after the Hunga Tonga eruption/tsunami. Arrived 26 January with 250+ pallets of relief stores, helicopters and engineering/logistics forces; delivered ~88 tonnes of humanitarian assistance before handover.
2022	Canberra	Operation Tonga Assist	Sailed out to relieve Adelaide, then delivered another ~150 tonnes of reconstruction equipment, vehicles, water infrastructure and emergency equipment.
2022	Canberra	Regional Presence Deployment / Noble Partners	Almost three months at sea. Exercised with US and Japanese forces en route across the Pacific.
2022	Canberra	RIMPAC 2022	Major amphibious participant with 25 other nations. Sustained USMC MV-22B operations from an Australian LHD for the first time.
2022	Canberra	Operation Render Safe – Nauru	On the return leg from RIMPAC, supported destruction of WWII unexploded ordnance off Nauru.
2022	Adelaide	Exercise Trident	Major Australia-Singapore amphibious exercise with 1,600+ personnel, two Singaporean LPDs and Adelaide.
2023	Canberra	Operation Vanuatu Assist	Deployed with 600+ personnel after Tropical Cyclones Judy and Kevin. Provided helicopters, landing craft, hospital capability, relief supplies, hydrographic work, route clearance and infrastructure restoration.
2023	Canberra	Talisman Sabre 2023	Hosted the exercise opening and then supported the large multinational amphibious component of the 13-nation exercise.
2023	Canberra	IPE23 / Exercise Alon – Philippines	Major bilateral Australian-Philippines amphibious operation. About 100 Filipino personnel embarked; USMC MV-22s operated from Canberra
2023	Adelaide	Exercise Balance Action	Worked with US Army Special Operations Command; hosted MH-47G Chinooks from the 160th SOAR for the first time.
2024	Adelaide	Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2024	Part of an engagement running from late August to December across 13 countries with more than 2,000 ADF personnel overall.
2024	Adelaide	Exercise Keris Woomera – Indonesia	Major Australian-Indonesian amphibious exercise involving about 2,000 personnel; TNI personnel embarked Adelaide for joint air, sea, land, amphibious and HADR training.
2025	Canberra	Talisman Sabre 2025	Canberra and Choules embarked 800+ additional personnel forming the Australian Amphibious Force, including allied US, Japanese, Korean and French forces.
2025	Adelaide	Talisman Sabre 2025	Hosted the formal opening of what became the largest Talisman Sabre yet;
2026	Canberra	Exercise Kakadu 2026	Used during the RAN's major multinational maritime exercise involving 19 nations and ~6,000 personnel,
2026	Canberra	Exercise Capital Reach	Embarked 350+ US Marines from MRF-D for integrated amphibious training

So for all the critisim about the ships being useless except for out of date amphibious assaults we seem to use them for pretty much everything. Not only that the operations that are often used for are big ship operations. thousands of personnel type of operations that small ships, would be complimentary, not replace that sort of capability.

Excellent information re the LHDs
Highlights the diversity of employment and contribution to the ADF and just as importantly as ambassadors for the nation.

More than a ship
A capability working with other assets that forms a statement.

Cheers S

 

[iambuzzard]

Excellent information re the LHDs
Highlights the diversity of employment and contribution to the ADF and just as importantly as ambassadors for the nation.

More than a ship
A capability working with other assets that forms a statement.

Cheers S

Which is why Defence need to apply the rule of three. Two hulls has never been enough. Plus, I think the RAAF need to stop the dummy spit over any chance of the RAN getting fixed wing air assets again. The world is too dangerous for childish tamtrums.

 

[south]

I’m not sure that anyone is dummy spitting - as outlined by @Takao, there’s been support in the past. In fact, I’d be surprised if anyone is even having the conversation. Fact is there isn’t sufficient money for the current combat air fleet, let alone a hypothetical 20-30 F-35B which would require substantial modification to the LHDs and simultaneously limit their amphibious capability.

Why? Because essentially we’re in the movie where SSNs have introduced a 4th service to the ADF, but the overall budget is unchanged. Until the Defence Budget expands to match this increase in demand there’s no scope for Naval combat air (which would probably follow a joint model like the RAF/RN F-35 fleet is doing anyway). While we’re here, let’s not forget that Navy is currently consuming a larger slice of the budget than Army and Air Force combined.

At the same time, the RAAF is significantly stretched - 4 combat squadrons
(F-35/F-18) and an EW squadron (EA-18G), and light squadrons of enablers like ASR, AEW and Air Lift, just isn’t enough to defend and project from a continental size land mass.

Every point made for Navy (about being stretched) could equally be made for the RAAF or Army.

 

[spoz]

For “Navy” in the comment about relative budgets, you could substitute “Submarines”. As noted by others, the rest of the Navy is suffering along with Army and the RAAF.

 

[Murse]

Mounting concern in Australia over UK ability to deliver SSN-AUKUS - Navy Lookout

A look at the problems facing the UK's nuclear submarine production and AUKUS class SSN's.
Suffren class suggested as a replacement, We're too far along and no political party would survive that outcome...

 

[Musashi_kenshin]

Mounting concern in Australia over UK ability to deliver SSN-AUKUS - Navy Lookout

A look at the problems facing the UK's nuclear submarine production and AUKUS class SSN's.
Suffren class suggested as a replacement, We're too far along and no political party would survive that outcome...

Whilst some valid points are made about the Royal Navy's difficulty in putting submarines to sea, that has nothing to do with the production of new submarines. The issue is maintenance, which is being addressed but is also the UK's problem. We're not going to stop making new submarines because we have problems keeping the existing ones running.

I would say this was yet another "UNHAPPY!" article about Australia's submarine gap. There's always a suggestion about something else Australia can do, but they're not going to get an SSN any faster unless they give up local production. Plus SSN-AUKUS is going to be more advanced and capabable than Suffren or Astute. Given Australia is going to have that submarine gap whatever happens, is the solution really to have an older type of submarine a year or two sooner whilst giving up on the local build and domestic ability to maintain them?

 

[Stampede]

Which is why Defence need to apply the rule of three. Two hulls has never been enough. Plus, I think the RAAF need to stop the dummy spit over any chance of the RAN getting fixed wing air assets again. The world is too dangerous for childish tamtrums.

Some years ago now a RAAF F35 made its first appearance at the Avalon air show.
It was then a new aircraft and a star attraction drawing in the crowds.
At a static display I overheard someone ask one of the senior NCO RAAF maintenance blokes, should we get the F35B.
It was probably a question asked many times on the day to which the response was quick and with a smile.”
“Arghhhh too many moving parts”

The accompanying office also recognised the question and dismissive response with a plastic smile and the subject was promptly dropped.

It was evident to me right then that the RAAF had absolutely no intention of going to sea.

In the past I have been an advocate for such a capability, but the unmanned space is changing warfare dramatically and we need to move with the times.
While the F35b still has relevance, it forms a niche capability that is for those bigger nations that can afford it.
Beyond us with our current expenditure.
The ADF is completely off balance with the AUKUS thing, so we really need to prioritise existing capabilities first before introducing manned fixed wing at sea.
If there’s some cents left over suggest we can put it towards some unmanned things or GBAD.

Sadly S

 

[SammyC]

Some years ago now a RAAF F35 made its first appearance at the Avalon air show.
It was then a new aircraft and a star attraction drawing in the crowds.
At a static display I overheard someone ask one of the senior NCO RAAF maintenance blokes, should we get the F35B.
It was probably a question asked many times on the day to which the response was quick and with a smile.”
“Arghhhh too many moving parts”

The accompanying office also recognised the question and dismissive response with a plastic smile and the subject was promptly dropped.

It was evident to me right then that the RAAF had absolutely no intention of going to sea.

In the past I have been an advocate for such a capability, but the unmanned space is changing warfare dramatically and we need to move with the times.
While the F35b still has relevance, it forms a niche capability that is for those bigger nations that can afford it.
Beyond us with our current expenditure.
The ADF is completely off balance with the AUKUS thing, so we really need to prioritise existing capabilities first before introducing manned fixed wing at sea.
If there’s some cents left over suggest we can put it towards some unmanned things or GBAD.

Sadly S

Yes, there are so many other better value investments over a fleet of F35Bs, and to your point there are emerging technologies that can/will soon do some of the functions of a Naval winged fleet. It's a bit like buying a Ferrari as a daily drive when you live in a rented 1 bedroom apartment for a family of four.

 

[StevoJH]

Yes, there are so many other better value investments over a fleet of F35Bs, and to your point there are emerging technologies that can/will soon do some of the functions of a Naval winged fleet. It's a bit like buying a Ferrari as a daily drive when you live in a rented 1 bedroom apartment for a family of four.

The RAN is unlikely in the foreseeable future to have the budget to put a big enough fleet of fighters to sea to put a significant strike package together against a peer opponent.

The biggest force multiplier at this point is probably AEW&C, which Wedgetail should have enough endurance to cover in our local area.

If off board ranged strike is required there is always MH-60R and the Apache’s.

 

[Sideline]

As Ukraine has shown, the future of military technology IS NOT putting 160 souls on a $2 billion boat and sending it out into the ocean just to give the enemy a target. Australia is a small country with a finite defense budget, finite construction capabilities and a finite number of potential service personnel. However for the size of our population we punch well above our weight in smarts/Tech.

I believe that every new purchase should be focused on supporting and enabling constantly evolving autonomous and semi autonomous vehicles and creating layered local counter-drone capabilities. We do not need giant armies, we’re not invading anyone! We just need to stop other people from wanting to ruin our day or cut our supply lines, the ghost bat (and others Ghost Shark, V-BAT and the US MQ-4C Triton etc) points the way forward.

The way people conducted war 20 years ago is now just a fast way to die.