Strategic Air Power Doctrine for Small Air Forces
The essence and purpose of doctrine. It develops strategic air power doctrine through an understanding of the air environment and the characteristics and structure of air power itself
All three Services of the Australian Defence Force plan to add additive manufacturing capabilities and capacity across their existing operations.
When was the last time you were faced with a problem that no one in the history of humankind has ever been able to define a clear solution?
As humans venture further and further into space, we begin to encounter more and more challenges, with increasing levels of complexity. Just as the early explorers ventured past the horizon, we now attempt a similar adventure by reaching deeper and deeper into space. While there may be a myriad of unknown problems waiting ahead of us, we are called upon as professionals to solve the ones immediately ahead of us.
In terms of National Power in the past, the majority of modern “Grey-Zone” activities centred on clear Diplomatic, Information, non-lethal Military and Economic actions. What is concerning are the blurred lines developing between these instruments, where often State actions do not meet perceived intent creating confusion in the rules-based global order.
On 20-21 March 2018, the Royal Australian Air Force will be conducting its biennial Air Power Conference.
Considerable resources have so far been expended on the RAAF air power education program but few, if any, performance measures are in place to assess whether those resources are being effectively and efficiently employed.
In the Australian strategic consciousness the Pacific Islands loom very large.
Access to foreign bases has long been a critical enabler of the ADF, and ongoing access will be key to Australia’s future security. In the past, these Forward Operating Bases (FOB) were considered relatively secure, however continual improvements to the range and accuracy of missiles acquired by adversarial militaries have made these bases attractive targets, being the seemingly soft underbelly of western militaries.
In order to continue utilisation of FOBs, and to guarantee the safety of deployed forces, the ADF cannot remain idle to the threat of advanced air and missile attacks. As such Australia must look to develop its Air and Missile Defence (AMD) capabilities in order to remain secure in future operations.
The aim of the essay is to discuss a range of AMD design and operating concepts to inform the development of an ADF Integrated AMD (IAMD) capability.
This essay will be structured into four key areas: western nations’ historical and future reliance on FOBs to project power; the emerging threat of powerful state and non-state actors; Australia’s response to emerging air and missile threats; and, IAMD design and operational concepts in an Australian context.
Proposals for presentations of 3,000 words (max.) are invited from established scholars, early career academic researchers, industry leaders, polic
Since 2010, the Wrigley Prize writing competition has called for written submissions that demonstrate an understanding of air power theory, and mor