While the ADF must look at acquiring - and defending against - cutting-edge weaponry, capabilities from past decades might need revisiting too. "Wherever we see the ability to drive technology forward in warfare there is always a counterpoint - someone who develops a defensive system or a way to undermine this system." What about the small boats? "The issue there becomes around communications, the ability to control those unmanned systems and, of course, there's ethical concerns there as well," Professor Dean said. Infantry troops from 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, patrolling during a training exercise.
"We need to be able to project force and we need to be able to move our forces around the region."
"Amphibious operations are some of the hardest operations that militaries can undertake," Professor Dean said. That army would be dealing in a style of maritime warfare not seen since World War II, said Professor Peter Dean, Director at the University of Western Australia's Defence and Security Institute. It also means re-training an army that has spent 20 years mired in conflicts in landlocked Afghanistan and dusty Iraq. The prospect of fighting a capable enemy in this region is driving the purchase of more and better landing craft. "There is not a single capability that is the one thing that fixes everything." Blend of new, old technology "The threats - and the opportunities - sit across multiple domains. "We've got to make sure that we've contemplated space, cyber, air, land and sea. "The minute you stop, you actually start to decline," he said. However, he noted, rapid technological change would force constant adaptation. Major General Jake Ellwood, Commander, 1st Division, Royal Australian Army.
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