The Australian Army in Strategic Transition: Lt General Stuart Simon on the Way Ahead

The Australian Army is undergoing what its leadership describes as the most significant transformation since World War II, fundamentally reshaping itself for an era of great power competition in the Indo-Pacific.

This comprehensive adaptation, driven by the 2023 Defence Strategic Review, represents both a strategic pivot and a return to the Army’s amphibious warfare heritage forged in the Pacific campaigns of the 1940s.

According to Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, Chief of the Australian Army, the service stands at “an historic inflection point” necessitated by the most challenging strategic circumstances since the end of World War II.¹ The Defence Strategic Review concluded that Australia faces “the prospect of major conflict in the region” and that the Australian Defence Force must transition rapidly from a “balanced force” to an “integrated, focused force” designed to address the nation’s most significant strategic risks.

This transformation is underpinned by Australia’s adoption of a “strategy of denial” – an approach that aims to deter conflict and prevent coercion through force, with a naturally strong maritime focus befitting an island nation.³ As General Stuart noted, “for the first time in more than 80 years, we must go back to fundamentals… to take a ‘first principles’ approach.”

I met with Lt General Stuart in his office in Canberra on 19 May 2025 to discuss the transition. He underscored that  “War has always been a contest to see who can adapt the fastest.” This philosophy underpins Australia’s shift from traditional change management approaches to a model of continual adaptation.

The stark difference between these paradigms isn’t merely semantic. Stuart points to Ukraine as a real-world laboratory demonstrating how adaptation cycles for technologies like unmanned aerial systems and counter-UAS capabilities are now “measured in days, not weeks, months, and years.”

This represents a clean break from previous military transformation efforts based on civilian change management theories — where organizations moved from one comfortable, well-defined state through a planned period of change to another stable configuration. “That may have been appropriate for the day,” Stuart notes, “but it doesn’t reflect the world we live in today.”

Australia’s approach to Army transformation is comprehensive, built around what Stuart calls “the four Cs”: Concepts, Command and Control, Capabilities, and Culture.

Concepts: Integrated Thinking

The Army has developed new land domain operating concepts aligned with joint force “integrated campaigning.” Stuart highlights four key integrating concepts: integrated air and missile defense, multi-domain strike, special operations, and logistics—with a fifth concept focused on littoral combat currently under development.

“It’s about understanding how you best leverage the terrain, the maritime environment, for positional advantage for the combined and joint force,” Stuart explains.

Command and Control: Restructuring for Joint Operations

The Australian Army has elevated the division to the “unit of action” and aligned divisions and commands with the Chief of Joint Operations’ theater missions. The headquarters structure has been reorganized to function effectively during wartime.

Forces Command has undergone perhaps the most significant transformation, taking on dual responsibilities: managing the Army training enterprise and developing contingency plans for scaling the Army during mobilization.

Stuart emphasizes the importance of this capability: “In a fight, the rest of the Army will be committed to operations. I need some capacity to be able to force-generate out of contact.”

Capabilities: Building the Future Force

The Army’s capability development focuses on several critical programs of record:

• The Littoral Maneuver Program, delivering 26 ships (18 medium and 8 heavy landing craft)
• Long-range strike capability centered on the newly established 10th Fires Brigade
• Combined arms fighting systems
• The land C⁴ digital network system connecting all components at machine speed

These capabilities address the functional question Stuart poses: “How do I contribute to my teammates in the air and on the surface and subsurface of the ocean by contributing to or achieving sea denial from the land?”

Culture: Professionalism Under Pressure

The fourth pillar addresses the human dimension. Stuart has commissioned a formal assessment of the Army profession, focusing on jurisdiction, professional knowledge, and self-regulation — ensuring the force has the values, skills, and mindset needed for continual adaptation.

The emphasis on littoral operations stems directly from the Indo-Pacific’s geography. The Australian Army aims to “unlock and access the maneuver space in the littorals either side of the beach and the airspace above it” to support joint operations.

“If you look at the map, it’s about understanding where the strategic geography is, where the key terrain is, and which straits are more important than others,” Stuart explains. “What is the contribution of the land force to the joint fight? How do I access and exploit the maneuver space that we haven’t been able to do before?”

Stuart doesn’t hide the urgency driving these changes. “Time is not on our side,” he states plainly, identifying a “strategic threat window” between 2025 and 2030.

With 2025 already here, the Army has adopted a “fight tonight” mentality—focusing on maximizing current capabilities while rapidly integrating new technologies. “Do what you can with what you’ve got,” as Stuart puts it.

While awaiting delivery of capabilities from long-term programs of record, the Army is working with allies and partners, including the U.S. Army Pacific and the Australian Navy. Two years ago, they successfully deployed combat forces, including armor, to the Philippines and Indonesia as part of multinational exercises.

One of the most innovative initiatives is the creation of a “tech-scaled battle group” from the first armored regiment. This unit teams soldiers with industry partners and scientists to rapidly evaluate new equipment, develop tactics, and determine what technologies should be adopted across the force.

“We learn fast,” Stuart says, describing how the battle group helps “operationalize the big idea of continual adaptation.”

Stuart acknowledges that traditional acquisition processes remain a challenge — a sentiment shared among his counterparts from 27 nations at a recent Land Forces of the Pacific conference. “There is a stunning correlation between the challenge we all have… acquisition systems that have been designed and developed for the last wars and are not yet fit for purpose for the next.”

The Army is experimenting with new program designs that deliver capabilities in incremental “target states” rather than monolithic blocks — particularly important for rapidly evolving software systems.

As tensions in the Indo-Pacific continue, Australia’s Army transformation represents a significant shift in military thinking — one that prioritizes adaptability, joint operations, and practical capacity building over traditional force structure planning.

The next few years will test whether this approach can deliver the capabilities needed to address regional challenges. But one thing is clear: the days of comfortable, predictable military transformation are over.

In the contest of adaptation that defines modern warfare, Australia is determined not to be left behind.

Featured photo: Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, AO, DSC, speaks with a soldier during a welcome parade at Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Suva, Fiji. June 11, 2025. Credit: Australian Department of Defence.

See also, the following:

Strategic Transformation for a New Era: Reworking the Australian’s Army’s Role in Australian Defence