Williams Foundation

Congratulations to Williams Foundation Director Katherine Ziesing 😀👏

I hope this is of use for those seeking to understand the complex conflict occurring in Europe and the Middle East and the implications for Australian force structure. Sorry for those getting tired of my voice!

It is always good to speak with Sally Sara on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio The World Today. The decision to donate Australian Army M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine is a good one. I hope they don’t arrive too late. Ukraine faces very significant challenges containing Russian offensive actions and uncertainty in the form of the US Presidential election in November.

What is the right balance between plentiful and exquisite capability to generate combat mass?   The plentiful and easily manufactured drone capabilities used in the Ukraine conflict were highlighted at the Williams Foundation Seminar in Canberra on the 26 September 2024.   The Seminar discussed how to generate combat mass and depth. While plentiful cost-effective capability generates mass, this can be at odds with the enduring need to produce exquisite combat capability. For example, a Black Sea case study revealed that unless Ukrainian drones achieved surprise attack, they were defeated by the more exquisite capabilities the adversary employed.   Generating mass can be achieved beyond just the number of platforms. The aggregated and tactical employment of survivable platforms was discussed to generate combat mass with exquisite capability. In many ways it comes down to force packaging, and exploiting air power’s flexibility in matching mission requirements with available weapons systems across the full spectrum of capabilities. Article by FLTLT Lily Warrick

Chief of the Australian Army, Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, AO, DSC, explains how the Australian Army is dealing with the challenge of restructuring, readiness and resilience Article by Robbin Laird

A need for National Policies   Whilst many themes were explored throughout the Williams Foundation Seminar held on 26 September 2024, a key topic that recurred was the inherent need for Australia to develop National Policies across domains, rather than viewing military and civil requirements in separate ways   Dr Malcolm Davis addressed the need for Australia to have a National Space Policy which encapsulates the requirements of commercial, civil, government and military space. In similar fashion, Jennifer Parker highlighted the need for a combined strategy for maritime vessels, while Chris McInnes discussed the current limitations faced by not having a national air power policy, and how it is no longer a valid outlook to separate the needs of civil and military aviation within Australia. Air Power, like Sea Power and Space Power, is a national capability and not just a military one The seminar highlighted the fact that the challenges faced are similar across the enterprise, with limited access to the required resources being a common concern. Industry also contributes significantly to the generation of these capabilities, and national approaches to these domains would improve scalability and agility in addressing problems as they arise, as well as improving compatibility of systems and processes. As Air Vice Marshal Glen Braz, AM, CSC, DSM, Air Commander Australia, highlighted, “everyone is in the fight together”, and we need to start viewing the problems together so we can work on solutions together Article by RAAF FLTLT Kaylee Verrier

"... for the effective defence of Australia as a nation, one needs to expand the notion from a force in being to a force in being embedded in the national enterprise which participates beyond the remit of the ADF to defend the nation" In this article by Robbin Laird he shares his insights from presentations at the recent Williams Foundation conference https://lnkd.in/gEieiev5

Switching the narrative on distance, Australia’s geography advantage.   The vast and dispersed Australian geography has been considered a challenging theatre for operations in the past. Military and Industry speakers at the Sir Richard Williams Foundation Conference held 26 September 24 at the National Gallery in Canberra proposed switching this narrative on Australian geography.   The Chief of Royal Australian Air Force AIRMSHL Chappell, DSC, CSC, OAM, proposed the RAAF’s familiarity with operating across vast distances in austere locations was not a challenge but an advantage, improving survivability and placing resource demands on a potential adversary.     The Space Industry recognized the vast Australian geography as ideal for a sovereign space launch capability, supporting national resilience in the Electro-Magnetic Spectrum.   Rather than presenting a challenge, discussions at the Williams Conference switched the narrative on Australia’s vast geography as presenting an opportunity for survivability, resilience and deterrence. Article by FLTLT Lily Warrick

I had the opportunity this week to attend the Williams Foundation conference on Enhancing & Accelerating the Integrated Force. ⬇️ Firstly a tip of the hat to the Williams Foundation. A first class event with excellent representation across Defence, Industry, Academia and Think Tanks. Setting the standard for other institutions to match. Some of my observations ⬇️ 1️⃣ Strategic Analysis Australia’s Peter Jennings gave a challenging assessment of the National Defence Strategy. We risk a phantom force unless the political class closes the say - do gap between strategy and the defence budget. 2️⃣ Industry needs to be included in planning on how to accelerate readiness and scale the force in being should competition escalate to conflict. Defence cannot place a last minute order with just in time delivery. 3️⃣ Both the Air Force and Navy are relying heavily on getting more from existing platforms and people. I’d respectfully observe neither service is looking to leverage a larger Reserve component to accelerate preparedness and improve capacity to scale. 4️⃣ Chief of Air Force’s address defined the tyranny of distance or our geographical depth as a strategic advantage. Leveraging our continent with dispersed operations, agile basing and designing infrastructure to support our operations and those of our allies will be key to deterrence. It was also an opportunity to hear from one of my favourite commentators on maritime matters Jennifer Parker, Space domain expert Malcolm Davis from Australian Strategic Policy Institute and Air Power Institute’s Chris McInnes (always good to see a fellow ADFA classmate still doing great things!).

"Australia adds immense value at the cutting edge of (the United States') most advanced tactics, techniques and procedures"