Publication:Plan Blue 2006/Future Navy
41. The environments in which the Future Navy will operate and the way it envisions it will fight have been described. The context is now set for communicating a vision of the Future Navy.
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42. People are the foundation of naval capability. Our people are masters of many disciplines and are well trained, well motivated and well led. Navy's people will continue to personify our core values maintaining our hard-earned reputation for professional excellence. The Future Navy will retain the respect and support of the community and the Government consolidating its reputation as an 'employer of choice'. As is the case today, flexible, innovative and committed people with strong team skills will form the Future Navy.
43. As technology proliferates, the equipment advantage between the ADF and potential adversaries will be increasingly hard to maintain. A fighting edge will be generated through Future Navy people being superior decision-makers, advanced mariners, having intimate knowledge of the operational art and being adept at the application of technology. Future Navy leaders will have the experience to exert influence in the joint arena, implement superior tactics in the operational or tactical arena, and be adept with the whole-of-government process. Navy leaders at all levels will also possess improved resource and business management skills. Leadership is a key tenet of a professional Future Navy and this will be reflected in a continuing commitment to education, training and experience.
44. Future Navy people will spend more time posted to sea going billets and less time in non-sea going postings, particularly during the first decade of their careers. They will be multi-skilled and the delineation between operator and maintainer will, in some areas, blur. They will be supported in their attempts to balance Navy and personal interests by flexible workforce practices and supporting initiatives that improve retention and quality of life. Technology will assist them in their day-to-day administration, training and career goals. Navy's organisation will also assist them in managing their workloads. Bureaucratic processes will be refined to minimise personal effort and maximise benefits to Navy people. The changing national demographic towards an ageing population will likely be reflected in Navy; consequently the importance of health and fitness as a component will increase.
Future Fleet
45. The Future Fleet will be able to provide a range of responses across the Span of Maritime Tasks, that is diplomatic, constabulary or naval missions. It will be capable of projecting power above, on and under the sea and will be integral to a seamless ADF. The Future Fleet will operate with other Government agencies in both the supporting and supported roles. Advances in ship design and system reliability will increase the range, endurance and operational availability of future ships permitting a Future Navy to meet Government's requirement for a maritime force able to operate across all areas where Australia has national interests.
46. In support of Navy's KC2[1] concept, higher capacity, networked command and communication systems will be able to transmit and receive superior C2 and targeting quality data. Combined with precision and long range weapons this will allow the Future Fleet to rapidly engage targets which in turn will create greater military effects, whether it be independently, in cooperation with other ADF elements or as part of a joint or combined force. The improved data transmission capabilities of ships will allow them to host command, control and communications functions for operations afloat and ashore. Interoperability with US forces will remain a key driver. This leveraging of technology will give Navy greater combat weight, speed and lethality.
47. The Future Fleet will have a greater capacity to project power into the littoral regions ashore, either in support of a joint activity or independently against strategic targets as part of a broader campaign. It will have a greater capability to deliver, protect, provide offensive fire support to, logistically sustain, manoeuvre and extract forces ashore.
48. Navy platforms must continue to be flexible and multi-mission capable. Uninhabited autonomous surveillance and combat vehicles (air, surface and sub-surface) will play an increasing role. They will act as force multipliers by varying and better matching ship capability to assigned missions. Operating in the hazardous and complex littoral regions against adversaries that may have greater access to high-end military technologies, in particular missile and subsurface equipment, will generate threats in all dimensions of the battlespace at a potentially high tempo. The Future Fleet will have layered defence systems, advanced signature management designs and systems to mitigate the risks and deliver the benefits of being able to operate in the littoral. The Future Fleet will remain a small to medium size force with a limited number of ships, so survivability will remain a key consideration. Automated systems will support the viability of the Future Navy by reducing crew sizes, balancing workloads and reducing costs.
49. The Future Fleet will need to be sustained for months at potentially great distances from Australia, often without host nation, forward operating base or coalition support. Integrated, Joint Task Groups (JTG) organised for the mission will feature in the future force. Navy and enabling organisations must be structured to provide rapid and flexible support under these conditions. Logistics, training, personnel and administration systems will support the rapid delivery of support packages to deployed fleet units operating at a high tempo in different parts of the world.
50. Technology will support innovative maintenance practices such as the real time data-linking of ship defects and maintenance advice. These technologies will improve maintenance practices and reduce costs. Distributed simulation will permit the conduct of realistic 'war games' between fleet, ADF and coalition units so that costs are reduced, collective training is improved and the available sea time is used more for operations and less for training. Similarly, distributed learning systems and web-based administration systems will be supporting Navy people at sea and will have lowered the cost of Navy's business.
51. Navy's organisation will reflect the integrated nature of ADF operations, with linkages and processes that ensure Navy is contributing to and being supported by the ADO. Navy's reliance on the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) for advice and support across a range of combat and administrative systems technologies will increase as systems are further automated and their complexity grows. Navy's basing will be optimised to ensure the effective delivery of maritime capability and fleet bases will be supported by proximate exercise areas and live weapons practice ranges. Navy's shore footprint will be smaller reflecting cost efficiencies, a reduced impact on the community and innovative crewing, support and training systems while balancing retention and quality of life issues. Supporting organisations will be playing a large role in the continued reduction in the cost of ownership of Navy systems.
52. The following chapters examine issues in each Fundamental Inputs to Capability (FIC) articulating the goals to be achieved in order to realise the vision of the Future Navy.
Footnotes
- ↑ Knowledge, Command and Control is the first pillar of FMOC 2025.
