Page 153 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2021

NOVEMBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
FROM THE SOURCE AIR MARSHAL MEL HUPFELD 153
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 162
ADM: How would you describe the capabilities of the RAAF in its 100th year?
AM HUPFELD: We are now in the second century of Air Force, a new fast-moving era for Australian air and space power. The Defence Strategic Update, Force Structure Plan and the Air Force Strategy (AFSTRAT) provide the vision, strategic direction and capability framework to pre- pare air and space power to enable the joint force in peace and war. I have made it very clear that Air Force’s purpose today is to enable the joint force in pursuit of national ob- jectives. I do not think there has ever been a time in our history where the unified purpose of the Australian De- fence Force, under One Defence, has been so strong.
Our capabilities and the opportunities being exploited to enhance those capabilities are described in AFSTRAT and it also highlights and reinforces that the Air Force capabil- ity is not all about flying platforms.
Our capabilities are potent and effective because our peo- ple are talented, skilled, and trained to the highest standards. As people are our critical asset to achieve the “edge”, we have to continue to invest into supporting these critical capability enablers as we have done with Air Force’s new platforms.
Our capabilities cover a broad range of technologies and systems that enable air and space operations. Our perma- nent air bases, and our capabilities to deploy and operate from austere, and sometimes damaged, airfields are show- cased regularly, most recently during our contribution to the Afghanistan evacuation.
Rapid development and enhancement of our capabilities in information warfare is also a key feature of the strategy. A notable and very complex system is the Jindalee Opera-
tional Radar Network (JORN). Our integration as part of the Joint Force is already extensive, but one of the things I want to emphasise is that the days of traditional thinking about Navy, Army, and Air Force as discrete operating in- stitutions are over. This is truly about multi and all-domain integration. Without a strong integrated joint culture, we cannot be effective in an integrated all-domain contest.
ADM: What role will people play in the RAAF of the future? AM HUPFELD: On 31 March this year, I announced that, as we commence our second century, we would change the terms airmen and airwomen to ‘aviators’. We are ALL avia- tors and our trade is aviation. In everything we do, we are aviators, first and foremost. Our common collective pur- pose to the nation is to think, act and imagine from the perspective of the skies and space above us. I also con- stantly impress on our Air Force aviators the importance of expanding their expertise outside of the air and space domain – to how these intertwine with maritime, land and cyber domains, in pursuit of common purpose. This is crucial in order to contribute fully to the Joint Force in a multi-domain environment.
Our future force will be powered by the talent of our people with the right skills, in the right environments, within a supportive culture. In defining our future work- force needs, we need to take into account the lead times for emergent capabilities. We also need to understand that the workforce of tomorrow will be digital and have a more intuitive connection with technology. It is important to develop an understanding of trusted human/machine
ABOVE: The RAAF has a very impressive aeromedical evacuation capability, which is supported by permanent and reserve personnel
NIGEL PITTAWAY