Australia’s “fight tonight” question has become urgent. Fight Tonight: Exploiting Australia’s Strategic Advantage distils the April 2026 Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar, where practitioners, commanders, industry and allies examined what the ADF can actually deploy, sustain and adapt in the opening weeks of a major Indo‑Pacific conflict.

The report argues that “fight tonight” is a demanding whole‑of‑nation standard, not a slogan. It shows how compressed warning times and China’s rapid build‑up are eroding the comfort that high‑end war is a distant contingency, and how geography, industry, alliances and critical infrastructure must be organised to turn Australia’s home‑team advantages into usable combat power at speed.

Anchored by Mike Pezzullo’s “ten months, not ten years” challenge, Fight Tonight forces a choice between early preparation and dangerous improvisation under fire.