Data, Data everywhere, Nor Any Drop to Drink: The Case for the Joint Integrator

The Australian government has made very clear that, to defend the nation, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) must be an integrated force. This article contends that such a goal remains an unrealised ambition. The 2023 Defence Strategic Review (DSR) (Houston & Smith, 2023), described as ‘one of the greatest shifts in Australia's military since WWII’, sets out integration as one of the most critical objectives for the ADF (Evans, 2023). The DSR states that deterrence, denial and response must be built on ‘…a genuine Integrated Force which harnesses effects across all five domains: maritime, land, air, space and cyber’ (Houston & Smith, 2023). In translating the DSR’s recommendations into action, the National Defence Strategy (NDS) elevated this goal into ‘national defence’, i.e. harnessing ‘all arms of Australia’s national power to establish a holistic, integrated and focused approach to protect our security and advance our interests (Australian Government, 2024)’.