Enhancing and Accelerating the Integrated Force:
An Operational Perspective
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Aim
The aim of the September 2024 seminar is to examine the enhancement and acceleration of the Integrated Force from an operational perspective.
The seminar seeks to identify the most significant factors which impact the Whole of Australian Government, Defence and industry, as well as international partners in a multi-domain context with an increasingly complex set of threats and operational risks.
Background
In a transition from an agenda focused on the 5th Generation Australian Defence Force, the 2024 seminars examine contemporary Defence challenges, gaps, and opportunities in the context of the current round of Defence and defence industry reviews across the time periods highlighted in the 2024 National Defence strategy:
Now until 2025 – the Enhanced Force-in-Being will focus on immediate enhancements that can be made to the current force.
2026 to 2030 – the Objective Integrated Force will see the accelerated acquisition of critical capabilities.
2031 and beyond – the Future Integrated Force will see the delivery of an ADF that is fit for purpose across all domains and enablers.
Four strategic themes provide a focus for the Sir Richard Williams Foundation; they cover mass and depth, agility, industry involvement, and redundancy.
The intent of the themes is to provide an objective consideration of those measures which balance combat effectiveness with an increasing demand for efficiency in a fiscally constrained national security environment.
BUILDING COMBAT MASS AND DEPTH ACROSS DOMAINS: How can new technology be applied to the extant force structure to enhance a focussed force and achieve critical mass and depth. The ability to mass power, plus sustain and replace it includes consideration of force protection and generation requirements for sustained operations across multiple rotations in a high threat environment where success is by no means assured.
GENERATING TEMPO ACROSS DOMAINS: How can the ADF respond at speed and scale across a vast geographical area in strategically relevant timeframes and remain survivable.
ENHANCING INDUSTRY CAPABILITY AND THE NATIONAL SUPPORT BASE: How can industry be more involved in planning to mitigate key sustainment and preparedness risks not least in relation to cost, and the broader demand for increased capacity and workforce integration.
SURVIVE TO OPERATE: How does the ADF build redundancy to sustain integrated operations across multiple domains and critical nodes in the face of an increasingly complex and lethal threat. Beyond the ADF there is the broader need for an objective assessment of industry competencies, workforce preparedness, and national will. Moreover, a central question emerges around whether the nation is ready for the realities of a future war?
Seminar Agenda
The September seminar will focus on enhancements to the focussed force, and the gaps and risks emerging from the NDS and Integrated Investment Program. The seminar will seek to support the transition to a Future Integrated Force that is fit for purpose across all domains and enablers that considers the rapidly accelerating threat and the need to prioritise investment in capability which is operationally relevant, survivable, lethal, sustainable, and delivered with the lowest political risk.
The proposed industry focus is: How can industry be more involved in planning to mitigate key sustainment and preparedness risks in the integrated force, and introduce new technology to add mass and depth plus the ability to sustain and replace it?
Cutting across each of the strategic themes are policy, process, technology, infrastructure, and workforce considerations including, but not limited to:
- Operational Risk Management: Balancing Lethality and Survivability
- Workforce: Management, Automation, and Development
- Training System Effectiveness & Mission Rehearsal
- Future Technologies and Collaborative Combat Systems
- Accelerating Capability: Minimum Viable Capability and Minimal Viable Product
- Preparedness, Basing, Logistics & Supply Chains
- Assuring Value for Money in Force Development
