The potential benefits of AI for the defence industry are substantial. AI can help soldiers make better decisions in complex and rapidly evolving situations by providing them with real-time information and insights on the battlefield.

AI can also automate routine tasks such as logistics, freeing up soldiers and officers to focus on more critical tasks.

AI can be used in human–machine teams to improve efficiency, increase combat power and achieve decision superiority, while lowering the risk to personnel.

Ensuring Australians are secure online is a shared responsibility – everyone has a role to play. This Strategy sets out our plan to protect Australians online.

The world has never been more interconnected; our reliance on the internet for our prosperity and way of life never greater. Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of secure online connectivity. It has also shown Australians’ resilience and resolve to work together for a common goal. That same whole-of-nation partnership between government, businesses and the community must also be applied to ensuring Australia is cyber secure.

Australians are rightfully seizing the opportunities of our digital world. However, as the opportunities have increased, so too have cyber threats. Well-equipped and persistent state-sponsored actors are targeting critical infrastructure and stealing our intellectual property.

Cyber criminals are also doing great harm, in ltrating systems from anywhere in the world, stealing money, identities and data from unsuspecting Australians. They are taking advantage of COVID-19 to target families and businesses, including health and medical research facilities. And they are hiding on the dark web to tra c drugs and other illicit goods, and share abhorrent images of child abuse. Our response must be bold to meet this threat head on.

This Strategy positions us to meet these evolving threats. Our vision is a more secure online world

for Australians, their businesses and the essential services upon which we all depend. We will deliver this vision together, through complementary action by governments, businesses and the community. Through this Strategy the Coalition Government will invest $1.67 billion over ten years in cyber security – the largest ever nancial commitment to cyber security. We will develop new Government capabilities, incentivise industry to protect themselves and their customers, build trust in the digital economy, and support the community to be secure online.

This need for qualified cyber security specialists has been further intensified by the recent effects of COVID-19 which drove Australian businesses to shift their operations to online and their workforces to remote. With increasing cyber threats and a growing amount of sensitive information circulating online, Australia needs to move quickly to close the cyber security skills gap.

This government push towards a more secure internet has created an industry shift where most IT teams now require cyber security knowledge in order to service their business’s technological needs. With this projected industry growth comes the continuously growing need for skilled cyber security professionals, making those who possess these skills and qualifications highly sought-after. The shortage of skilled cyber security specialists also means that professionals with these skillsets can demand a higher salary.

Air Marshal Rob Chipman said the deployment of drones in the Ukraine war had lessons for armed forces across the world.

Ukraine's armed forces have successfully used drones for reconnaissance missions of Russian units while also deploying the unmanned aircraft to deliver lethal payloads against enemy targets.

Blaxland said the drones being acquired by the Australian Defence Force, such as the Loyal Wingman unmanned aircraft and the long-range Triton drone, were cheaper than conventional warplanes and would help compensate for lack of numbers.

Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) will change future battlespaces and the way Army trains and fights.

Army’s 2022 RAS Strategy outlines how we will explore ways we team up with machines and systems through three themes; intelligent machine, machine to machine teaming, and human to machine teaming.

The benefits of RAS technology include maximising soldier performance, improving decision making, generating mass and scalable effects, protecting the force and operational efficiencies.

In collaboration with industry, academia, allies and partners, Army will explore emerging RAS opportunities through a ‘learn by doing’ approach that leverages the knowledge, skills and potential of our people.

Experiment Project Convergence 22 (PC22) is run by the US Army Futures Command Combined Joint Force. It is an experiment that involves Australia, United Kingdom and the US and is designed to improve integration between multinational allies and partners. The main focus is enabling effective communication and sharing of technology on the battlefield. This is achieved through practical application and testing, integration and demonstrations, as well experimenting with new and emerging technology, systems and processes.