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The Australian Army invites the Australian Quantum Technology community to the Army Quantum Technology Workshop 2021 (AQTW21) within the Australian Institute of Physics (AIP) Summer Meeting on Tuesday, 7 December. AQTW21 is the first in a regular series of Workshops where Army is seeking to directly engage with the Community to communicate its interests and intentions in quantum technology, build collaborative networks and relationships, curate its understanding of the quantum technology landscape, and …

The content in this article is an extract of  Spotlight Brief 6/21 . Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems: Organizational and Political Consequences The Philosophical Journal of Conflict and Violence – Jun 2021 Paul Dumouchel is interested in how Autonomous Weapon Systems will change Army’s ability to project power, affect the composition of armed forces, and affect the power relationships within them. He makes several thought-provoking observations related to Army structure and force design more broadly. A …

The content in this article is an extract of  Spotlight Brief 6/21 . Cyber Threats and Vulnerabilities to Conventional and Strategic Deterrence Joint Force Quarterly – Jul 2021 Information technology has contributed to a transformation in military capabilities and power. An information technology counter-revolution is now underway, whereby digitally dependent militaries have become increasingly vulnerable to new types of threats. Mark Montgomery and Erica Borghard break down how adversaries of the United …

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 …