Exercise Talisman Saber Amphibious Assault

Shaping amphibious capability around the new LHDs is part of the Australian Army’s modernization strategy.

An article by Stephen Kuper published on November 28, 2018 on the Australian website Defence Connect provided an overview on how the Australian Army is addressing its role within ADF transformation.

In this article, he highlighted how the Australian Army was looking at its modernization.

Both Accelerated Warfare and Army in Motion play critical roles in supporting the development of the ADF as an integrated, combined arms force, capable of complementing the unique capabilities of each branch, while leveraging the high-tech components, support and key mission and broader national security objectives.  

“So how do you then overlay F-35, Air Warfare Destroyer, LAND 19, 7 Bravo, ground-based air defence capability, and soon to come anti-ship missile and long-range surface fires? That’s a really important opportunity. That has huge implications for Defence.

“We’re always going to be small.

“We’re always going to have a relatively small number of these high quality platforms.

“So the ability to network them and achieve a single system of sensors and shooters, potentially a ground force that’s persistent and difficult to dig out, and deploying some of those sensors into marathon choke points [e.g. Malacca or Lombok Strait] and so on,” MAJGEN McLachlan said, explaining the growing importance of the Army as a key component of the broader future force. 

Integrating the broader ADF, particularly where each of the forces is an operational and strategic ‘equal’ capable of leveraging technology, doctrine, tactics and the world-class training of Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen and women provides a potent defence capability for Australia’s policy makers, particularly as the regional security environment continues to evolve and challenge the established power paradigm. 

The nation’s alliances, particularly in our region, will be enhanced by the development of the ‘Joint Force’ as Australia develops and integrates world-leading technologies, doctrine and personnel capable of engaging with, and overcoming, a variety of contingencies across the air, land, sea, space and cyber domains as threats emerge.    

These unique capabilities, particularly across high-technology platforms, innovative doctrine and highly-capable and readily responsive personnel, serve as the basis for securing the nation’s alliances and more broadly securing the nation and its geo-strategic and economic interests throughout the region.

As an Army in Motion, Accelerated Warfare serves as the next step in the evolution of the Army, which seeks to leverage the possibilities of both technology and the human potential that makes up the fighting force, building on the tradition and history of Australia’s Army as an innovative, unorthodox and world-class fighting force, renowned for punching above its weight.