Page 50 - Williams Foundation Air-Sea Integration Seminar

Shaping an Integrated Force in the Extended Battlespace

Hawthorne’s excellent presentation introduces a number of key elements for a solution set; the question is how
Australia can best leverage some of his suggestions?

PROGRESS AND THE WAY AHEAD IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE ADF:
AN INTERVIEW WITH FORMER RAAF CHIEF OF STAFF, AIR MARSHAL (RETIRED)
GEOFF BROWN

After the air-sea integration seminar, there was a chance to discuss with Air Marshal (Retired) Geoff Brown his
look back and forward on the process of transformation and his take on the seminar as one of the key hosts.

Question: Looking back, how do you view the progress so far on force modernization and
transformation?

Brown: I am pretty pleased with the progress so far.

When we were able to add the JSF as a key piece of the evolving RAAF, we then could open the aperture
and start to think more directly and fully about what a fully modernized air force not only would look like but
also could achieve for the ADF.

Question: You have been intimately involved with the Wedgetail project from the beginning. It is clear
now that this air battle management system is evolving into a joint battle management capability.

Indeed, for both Army and Navy it is seen as an Air Force platform which is fostering the kind of cross
service transformation which is desired across the force.

But such a development was not all that evident at the outset, was it?

Brown: Not at all.

But being a small air force, means that we don’t have the luxury of having specialty platforms; we are not
going to have an AWACS, a Joint Stars, a Hawkeye, etc.

We have to leverage our platforms as multi-mission and with a fifth generation focus right from the start.

The ability to multi-task all of our platforms is the key to producing the required combat power.

Wedgetail has very much given us a very different capability that certainly has appealed to the Navy as a
force enhancer to the fleet but I think Army’s starting to see what it can do for them too, as well.

And we have taken the same mentality with our C-17s and C-130s in terms of adding ISR and C2 capabilities
to the airlift fleet, and this really is a work in progress for the joint force.

Question: The Army presentation at the Air-Sea presentation clearly was good statement about progress
in the public discussion as well.

How do you view that?

Brown: The statement by the head of Army modernization about the intent and focus on Army’s role and
approach to integrated air and missile defense clearly is a statement of progress in how we are thinking
about the way ahead.

Second Line of Defense

Page 49