Key takeaway
Australia and the Quad are relying on a maritime surveillance model that cannot scale to the Indo-Pacific. The only credible near-term fix is a white-hull–led network of long-endurance Group 3 uncrewed aircraft feeding a sovereign federated cloud, letting each partner share insights without giving up control. It’s affordable, politically safe, technically achievable within 18 – 24 months, and far more realistic than waiting for high-end platforms in the 2030s.
Part 1 of this episode cuts straight to a problem every defence planner sees but few address head-on: the Indo-Pacific is too vast, too contested, and moving too quickly for episodic patrols and siloed national data. Todd Crowley speaks with Colin Gunn of Delta Black Aerospace to map a practical, low-signature way for Quad partners to lift maritime security without escalating tensions or waiting a decade for new platforms.
Colin Gunn argues the centre of gravity for maritime security has shifted. Coast Guards, border agencies, fisheries, aviation and SAR authorities already maintain daily sovereign presence across the Indo-Pacific. They hold sunk infrastructure, they operate in peacetime, and they’re trusted by Pacific partners. That makes them the logical starting point for a shared maritime picture that is persistent, sovereign-controlled, and politically neutral.
The model is blunt: long-endurance Group 3 uncrewed aircraft such as the Raider 3-30 networked into a federated cloud where each nation keeps its own data keys but shares insights. Not raw feeds. Not intelligence giveaways. Just the picture that matters. The result is continuous Indo-Pacific maritime awareness that can be stood up within months, not years, and expanded across the Pacific without provoking anyone.
They walks through what’s driving the shift: compressed warning times, readiness gaps across kit and personnel, and the strategic discomfort of waiting for AUKUS platforms while regional coercion intensifies. He also explains why Australia’s gap in Group 3 ISR and logistics is now unavoidable and how Coast Guard-first adoption could ease pressure on high-end assets like P-8s and Tritons.
The conversation also covers the protected-logistics push coming out of the United States, how operator-led design changes capability cycles, and where early traction for Group 3 systems is appearing from the U.S. services to South America and the wider Indo-Pacific.
If your remit includes maritime security, border protection, or regional partnerships, this episode gives a clear, executable pathway to lift awareness using capabilities your agencies already have.
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