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AUTONOMOUS & UNCREWED 2026
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SPECIAL REPORT

Embracing our autonomous and uncrewed future

Militaries around the globe are rapidly embracing autonomous and uncrewed systems across the warfighting domain, so why is Australia so slow?

EDITOR’S LETTER

Embracing our autonomous and uncrewed future

There is a moment in every strategic revolution when the evidence becomes undeniable, when the gap between what is happening on the world’s battlefields and what is happening in the procurement offices and doctrine branches of a given nation’s defence establishment becomes too wide to paper over with reassuring language about “considered approaches” and “capability pipelines”.
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EDITOR’S LETTER

Embracing our autonomous and uncrewed future

There is a moment in every strategic revolution when the evidence becomes undeniable, when the gap between what is happening on the world’s battlefields and what is happening in the procurement offices and doctrine branches of a given nation’s defence establishment becomes too wide to paper over with reassuring language about “considered approaches” and “capability pipelines”.
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EDITORIAL

Breaking the mould: The future of VTOL autonomous fighters in the Indo-Pacific

In October 2025, the US start-up Shield AI has unveiled X-BAT, a radical new jet-powered “loyal wing...

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NAVANTIA AUSTRALIA

Managing the complexities of autonomous systems in modern navies

Modern navies are undergoing a significant transformation as they transition towards hybrid force st...

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EDITORIAL

How first-person drones are reshaping the battlefield

First-person-view attack drones are expected to become a “specialised tool, not a silver bullet” as ...

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NOVA SYSTEMS

Buying drones is easy, making them work is not

Somewhere in the Indo-Pacific, an uncrewed system lifts off, dives beneath the surface, or moves sil...

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EDITORIAL

The swarm has landed: What Ukraine’s drone war means for Australia

The battlefield in Ukraine has become the most consequential proving ground for autonomous weapons s...

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DEPARTMENT 13

Winning the drone war: Australia’s counter-UAS future revolves around layered defence strategy

The rise of autonomous and uncrewed systems is reshaping warfare at a pace few defence planners have...

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EDITORIAL

Australia is being left badly underequipped for the drone era

Opinion: The government’s headline $7 billion counter-drone plan is largely smoke and mirrors, sprea...

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ELYSIUM EPL

Ghost ships and smart seas: How autonomous vessels are rewriting the Royal Australian Navy’s future

Australia’s vast maritime estate has long been both its greatest strategic asset and its most vexing...

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EDITORIAL

Japan eyes Australian Drone40 systems for lethal strike capability

Japanese soldiers could soon have the ability to reach out and intercept enemy littoral targets at r...

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