Phase 1—Identifying Barriers   Introduction The emergence of increasingly capable robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) has been recognised as having the potential to become a disruptive wave, raising significant challenges as well as opportunities for militaries. Every major military force has now publicly declared an interest in either developing, utilising or banning RAS. Even world leaders, such as Russian President Vladamir Putin, have issued proclamations regarding its potential impact on the future …

  Executive Summary Respite periods in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) have historically been subject to a range of single-service policies. While these have been recently consolidated into a single policy, there remains scope for improvement. As it stands, there is uncertainty around whether the time period designated by the ADF respite policy is enough or too much, the extent to which it should be enforceable, and its applicability to different types of operational deployments. Further, the current …

Implications for the Australian Army Introduction Armed forces are often required to maintain a forward presence beyond national territory, in support of national interests. The Cold War saw large-scale permanent deployments in defence of allies in Europe and in Asia by the United States, the United Kingdom and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries. In the last decade, the United States began new permanent or near-permanent rotational presences in Darwin and, with its NATO allies, in …

Negotiating the 2023 Defence Strategic Review Introduction On 24 April 2023 the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and the Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, announced the release of the government’s much anticipated ‘ National Defence: Defence Strategic Review ’ (DSR), the unclassified version. The government had initiated the review the previous August, appointing a former Chief of Defence Force, Sir Angus Houston, and a former Minster for Defence, Stephen Smith, to lead its preparation. …

Executive Summary The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has a long history of defence international engagement in places as diverse as Fiji, Uganda and Vietnam. Most of this is routine, but some occurs on operations where it can be a critical factor in achieving strategic objectives. Fiji is a useful case study to review international and operational engagement practices. Routine international engagement was a key component of the broader bilateral relationship with Fiji prior to the 2006 Coup. This was …

Understanding the Risk of Mass Atrocities in a Changing Global and Regional Context   Introduction Global geostrategic trends directly impact Australian foreign and defence policy in a variety of ways. For a nation such as Australia, which prioritises defence of the rules-based international order, there are few violations more egregious to confront than genocide and mass atrocities. Nevertheless, genocide has killed at least 84 million civilians worldwide since 1900. Genocide and mass atrocities are not …

This Strategic Assessment provides insights into the global supply chain issues that will shape Defence’s ability to maintain adequate war stocks of strike weapons. It discusses the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Western stockpiles, the diversification of rare earth processing and the increasing pressure on Western militaries to secure their stockpiles of strike weapons. These topics have been emphasised on the basis of their significance to long-term strategic decision making, the formation …

Tactical Observations on the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine Abstract This Spotlight Brief examines Russia’s combined-arms approach during its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. To provide context to this study, it discusses the primary Russian tactical unit of action, the Battalion Tactical Group. It subsequently explores a range of observations on the application of combined-arms at the tactical level during the initial phases of the invasion. It concludes by offering a number of deductions pertinent to the …

Achieving that Long-Desired Information Advantage Foreword This thoughtful and candid article from Jason Logue addresses challenges and opportunities within the Australian Defence Force (ADF) regarding the evolution of operations in the information environment. While he focuses on his experiences within the ADF, his characterisation, observations and views are consistent with US challenges based upon my almost 30 years of experience as US Department of Defense Information professional. Essentially, Grey …

An introduction to gender studies, unshackling human talent and optimising military capability for the coming Era of Equality: 2020 to 2050 Introduction Gender has been a high-profile issue within the Army over the last five years. In response to Pathways to Change (PtC), Army has introduced significant changes in a short period. However, there is now a chance for Army to catch its breath and reflect more deeply and strategically about how it approaches gender issues in the longer term. Although there may …