The Future of Australian Air Power: A Soldier’s View

This paper provides a soldier’s view of the future of Australian air power. It argues that the professional experiences of the last 25 years are increasingly irrelevant, given the uncontested nature of the airspace during that time. A return to great power competition, and an accelerating change in the character of warfare, means we must re-imagine ‘airmindedness’ for the middle decades of the 21st century. The paper proposes one way of addressing this is a shift from air-land integration to all-domain orchestration. The paper then examines how such a re-imagining might take place, through the medium of the ongoing transformation of the Australian Army. It proposes new concepts, unified by the ‘big ideas’ of manoeuvre and targeting. It considers adjustments to command and control (C2), with a particular focus on airspace below 10,000 feet and the ideas of ‘supporting/supported’ command. It examines next generation capabilities. Finally, it considers a unifying culture between the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force. The paper concludes by proposing that amphibious and littoral warfare should be the litmus test for integration: the most complex of military operations, and the place where we must orchestrate if we are to thrive.