Archipelagic Manoeuvre

The Australian Maritime Strategy 2013 for the Australian Defence Force acknowledges the complex archipelagic nature of our near region and highlights the importance of the littoral environment for future operations by the Australian Defence Force. It implicitly requires the ADF to hold a balanced force structure that is capable of “Joint Archipelagic Manoeuvre”. Specifically, it must be capable of applying focused maritime control operations that deny an adversary’s access to, or ability to control, the key routes within a maritime archipelagic environment, and mounting and leading expeditionary stability operations in our immediate region. It must also provide scalable responsive options for Government to make contributions to any actions required to preserve our national interests.

This discussion paper explores some of the considerations and future land force capabilities required for a Joint Archipelagic Manoeuvre concept.