Multi-Domain Operations and Australia’s Joint Force—Risk and Opportunity The armed forces of a minor power are not in a position to make major contributions to the development of the art of war and taking our cue from the British, in this as in so much else, the Australian Forces have thrown up no great theorist or systemiser. If the hallmarks of the American way of war are power and mobility, what can be said of the Australian variant? Jeffery Grey [1] Introduction The quest to identify an Australian ‘way …

A Convergence in Strategic Approach The 2020 Defence Strategic Update normalised ‘grey-zone activities’ in the lexicon, introducing them as a strategic driver shaping Australia’s strategic environment [1] and noting that Defence will expand its capability to respond to such threats. [2] This task will prove difficult without a clear understanding of what is meant by the term ‘grey zone’. To address that question, I will start with an unusual analytic perspective. Professor Theo Farrell argued that Western …

War therefore has a future. It can make an appearance wherever there is a combination of an intensive dispute and available forms of violence. Sir Lawrence Freedman [1]   Designing the Future: Thinking about Joint Operations Change is hard. As Army’s Future Land Warfare (FLW) Branch, we contest ideas, encourage discourse and propose concepts that are often not to the satisfaction of every faction, agenda, or interest-group focused on the generation of land power as part of the Australian Defence Force. For …

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. Albert Einstein (1879–1955) Introduction Building a stronger future joint force for Australia that is both integrated [1] and sustainable is a highly complex and difficult endeavour. Recent economic circumstances have arguably exacerbated this challenge. [2] In this essay [3] I will argue that Defence investment in intangible assets, accompanied by a paradigm shift in thinking and behaviour away from single domain or Service capability success criteria to …

Peering beyond 2040 Introduction We are now entering an era where intelligent autonomous weapons and robot warriors are no longer in the realm of science fiction. Battlefield aviation in particular has experienced an accelerated evolution over the past decade. Unmanned systems are increasingly common and more complex. Our aircraft are augmented with fly-by-wire technology and sophisticated high-precision munitions, and real-time information sharing with the ability to stream HD video now seems like …

Introduction The 2020 Defence Strategic Update (DSU) and its companion document the 2020 Force Structure Plan have given an insight into possible future concepts and employment options for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Most pundits agree that it is a timely and relevant update to the strategic assessments and investment priorities of the Australian Government’s Defence White Paper 2016, with an emphasis on increasing the ADF’s space and cyber capabilities and lethal strike capabilities and its …

The acquisition of information about the enemy has always been considered one of the most important elements in war. A commander without information is like a man blindfolded, he knows neither where to strike nor what quarter to expect attack; he is unable to make a plan for himself, or guard against the plan of his enemy. [1] Intelligence is fundamental to decision-making. Intelligence is derived through the analysis of unprocessed data generated through collection activities, generally referred to as …

The commander must work in a medium which his eyes cannot see, which his best deductive powers cannot always fathom; and with which, because of constant changes, he can rarely become familiar. [1]   Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831) In early June 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute published an article titled ‘Australia’s Navy needs operations research to navigate the future’. [2]  The authors’ central argument posits that operations research (OR) is the critical capability required to enable the …

A Case Study in Thinking for Future Warfare “All human institutions must inevitably deal with the tension between continuity and change, between preserving that which has met the needs of the past and adapting to the challenge of change in a confusing present and uncertain future.”                                                                                                  Harold R. Winton [1] If hindsight is 20/20, how will we prepare for future warfare knowing what we know today? The past offers us …

The Impact of Terrain on British Operations and Doctrine in North Africa, 1940-43 By Neal Dando Helion, Solihull, 2016. 207pp. Reviewed by Brigadier Chris Roberts, AM, CSC In this book, Neal Dando seeks to prove the 'significant impact of the physical terrain' on British operations during the North African campaigns from 1940 to 1943, and 'the subsidiary effect this had on tactical doctrine.' The principal purpose behind this study is his concern that historians have not paid sufficient attention to …