In this very special episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Mark Donaldson VC — now a strategic advisor for Microsoft — and Daniel Keighran VC, key account manager joint capability at Thales Australia and New Zealand, join host Phil Tarrant to discuss equipping Australia’s future warfighter.
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- The two Victoria Cross recipients discuss the importance of providing Australia’s servicemen and women with the latest equipment to achieve battlefield outcomes, including:
a. Cognitive decision-making tools;b. Translation capabilities on battlefield radios;c. High-value target intelligence and identification equipment;d. Section level information sharing capabilities; ande. Digitising equipment to streamline maintenance and sustainment.
- Mark Donaldson VC and Daniel Keighran VC then unpack their recent business ventures at Microsoft and Thales, including the Nexium Defence Cloud and the digital battle rifle, and how technology will enable warfighters to make quicker, smarter and more effective decisions on the battlefield.
- The podcast wraps up with an analysis of the war in Ukraine to assess the future of multi-domain conflict.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect Team
Listen to previous episodes of the Defence Connect podcast:
Episode 475: SPOTLIGHT: Unpacking the opportunities to enhance Australia’s defence capabilities, with Yehuda Lahav, Israel Aerospace Industries
Episode 474: PODCAST: Confronting Australia’s dwindling belief in itself and the national security implications, with Scott Hargreaves, Institute of Public Affairs
Episode 473: CONTESTED GROUND: Espionage and disrupting non-state adversaries
Episode 472: PODCAST: The future of land warfare for Australia and our UK partners with Tom Newman, Babcock Land CEO
Episode 471: CONTESTED GROUND: Irregular warfare in Ukraine and Russian information operations, with MAJGEN (Ret’d) Gus McLachlan
Episode 470: SPOTLIGHT: Deconstructing Defence’s Digital Engineering Strategy, with Downer’s Rachel Hatton and Connie Heaney
Episode 469: CONTESTED GROUND: The enduring opportunities of the Australia–US relationship, with former ambassador Joe Hockey
Episode 468: CONTESTED GROUND: Developing true sovereign capability, with shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie MP
Episode 467: PODCAST: From the front gate to your plate and the world’s – Food security in the era of great power competition, with AgSecure’s Andrew Henderson
Episode 466: SPOTLIGHT: Advanced ICT, emergency services and managing remote sites – how industry supports Defence’s key objectives, with Ventia’s John Rogers and Belinda Grealy