Page 40 - Maritime Services and the Kill Web

The Maritime Services, the Allies and Shaping the Kill Web

“That is why in our exercises with partners such as in Talisman Saber 2017 we are working the spectrum of
conflict both to shape capability, but to lay a solid foundation for thinking about future operational needs.”

Question: As we go forward, it is important to think through the military force we are building up against
the objectives, which Australia and its allies can establish within the region and beyond.

You are building a very flexible and in that overused term, agile force, but these tools need to be
matched up against objectives.
Clearly, as you have said, protection of Australian territory is crucial but beyond that what approach do
we need?

Air Marshal Davies: As you suggest, military capability is a necessary but not sufficient condition for success.

“It is crucial that we sort out objectives among ourselves in the region and beyond,

“What are the most crucial challenges to be met?

“How and where do our approaches overlap and where do they differ?
“And we need to remain aware that the military responses are only one of those options that each respective
government has.

“We need to be credible

“And building of credible military options, should they be needed, requires coordination with our allies.”

Question: How do you view the fundamentals of the Australian approach going forward?

Air Marshal Davies: A key element is simply our unique geography and the nature of our neighborhood. We
have a unique geography, which provides protection as well as challenges within our region.

“As I mentioned earlier, this means shaping robust and clear relationships with our closest neighbors.

“It means working with allies like the US and Japan to shape very flexible military options to adapt to
changes in the region.

“Space is becoming increasingly important.
“We have used space largely as a communications domain, but as adversaries adopt new approaches, we
need to reconsider how we do business as well.

“And we are adding Tritons and F-35s, which means we can reshape our networks, and access to space will
be needed to enable configurable and redundant networks.

“Antarctica will become increasingly important in the period ahead. It is the world’s back door and states will
look to use transit over the pole to shorten operating distances to areas of interest.

“We want to make sure that we are able to properly defend our ability to maintain Antarctica as a neutral
environment.”

Question: Integrated air and missile defense is clearly an important coming capability for Australia.

How best to approach that challenge?
Second Line of Defense

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