{"id":36332,"date":"2023-04-24T14:10:30","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T14:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2023\/04\/24\/more-missiles-less-vehicles-australia-unveils-strategic-review\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T14:09:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T14:09:47","slug":"more-missiles-less-vehicles-australia-unveils-strategic-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/24\/more-missiles-less-vehicles-australia-unveils-strategic-review\/","title":{"rendered":"More missiles, less vehicles: Australia unveils strategic review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MELBOURNE, Australia \u2014 Australia\u2019s defense minister released the public version<\/a> of the long-awaited Defence Strategic Review on Monday, which is meant to provide a blueprint to counter China\u2019s influence in the Indo-Pacific region<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 110-page report calls for fundamental changes to the structure of the Australian Defence Force to counter modern and emerging threats, but does so at the expense of capability acquisition and base infrastructure projects. While some efforts will simply undergo a delay or \u201cre-scoping,\u201d others will get canceled outright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The review was conducted over several months by Angus Houston, a former Australian Defence Force chief, and Stephen Smith, a former defense minister. The effort was \u201cthe most ambitious review of Defence\u2019s posture and structure since the Second World War,\u201d according to the document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA large-scale conventional and non-conventional military build-up without strategic reassurance is contributing to the most challenging circumstances in our region for decades,\u201d Defence Minister Richard Marles stated in his introduction to the report. \u201cCombined with rising tensions and reduced warning time for conflict, the risks of military escalation or miscalculation are rising.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference after the release of the Defence Strategic Review on April 24, 2023. (Lukas Coch\/AAP Image via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The report also said the United States is no longer the unipolar leader in the region amid a return to strategic competition among major powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a consequence, for the first time in 80 years, we must go back to fundamentals, to take a first-principles approach as to how we manage and seek to avoid the highest level of strategic risk we now face as a nation: the prospect of major conflict in the region that directly threatens our national interest,\u201d the report read. \u201cStrategically, we may have already entered a decisive period for the Indo-Pacific. As a result, our ability to address the reduced strategic warning time identified in the 2020 Defence Strategic Update has come into sharper relief.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That 2020 document acknowledged Australia\u2019s traditionally held view that the nation would have a decade of warning time to prepare itself for conflict no longer applied. The latest Defence Strategic Review takes this one step further, calling for a three-stage strategy beginning with a two-year period between now and 2025 to address \u201cmatters which must be prioritised and addressed urgently.\u201d A second period would follow between 2026 and 2030, and then a third \u201cbeyond 2031.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Defence Strategic Review also recommended the government commission a new version every two years in place of the sporadically released defense whitepapers of the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, it calls for a change in the military\u2019s Defence of Australia doctrine \u2014 adhered to over the past 50 years \u2014 to one which will see a more integrated force able to respond to rapidly changing risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe current Australian Defence Force (ADF) force structure is based on a \u2018balanced force\u2019 model that reflects a bygone era. It does not adequately address our new strategic environment,\u201d the review stated. \u201cThe ADF needs a much more focused force that can respond to the risks we face. It should be informed by net assessment and able to effect a strategy of denial.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time, the review addresses the need to harden Australia\u2019s air bases and secure fuel supplies against attack from Australia\u2019s north. In the past, these were couched in general terms; there are currently no hardened defense facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capability needs<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The review calls for the military to apply several \u201ccritical capabilities<\/a>,\u201d including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n