Publication:Plan Blue 2006/Introduction
Plan Blue 2006 is the Chief of Navy's (CN) strategic guidance for the evolution of the Royal Australian Navy and transition to the Future Navy[1] . It examines the next 20 years to highlight the significant challenges Navy will face and informs the development of the appropriate people, major systems, support, supplies, facilities, training and organisational systems and processes to support the delivery of maritime power. Plan Blue 2006 articulates a number of aspirational objectives, so today's decisions can be informed by a view of Navy's future.
1. The release of Plan Blue 2006 forms part of the three year Navy Innovation Strategy (NIS) cycle. The starting point of the current cycle is the Future Maritime Operating Concept 2025 (FMOC) approved by the Chiefs of Service Committee (COSC) in December 2005. Plan Blue 2006 provides strategic guidance for the development of a Future Navy that is capable of delivering the span of maritime operations required by the FMOC. The third part of the cycle is Navy's Maritime Experimentation Program, and specifically 'Headmark', that tests and refines the FMOC. This closed loop cycle ensures the FMOC remains relevant and aligned with CN's strategic direction, joint guidance and an ongoing assessment of the future environment.
2. The structure of Plan Blue 2006 remains similar to its predecessor Plan Blue - Headmark 2025. To set the context for the Future Navy, Plan Blue 2006 summarises the key issues from analysis of the future security and organisational environment. It incorporates key themes of the FMOC. A broad description of the quality and characteristics of the Future Navy required by the analysis of the environment and consideration of the FMOC follows. This enables examination of the issues within each Fundamental Input to Capability (FIC) through the listing of goals and accompanying CN guidance. Plan Blue 2006 concludes with a summary of the issues discussed and an introduction to the implementation strategy. In this way, a logical and aligned audit trail is established between the Government's policies, Defence planning, CN's guidance and the development of the Future Navy.
3. While Plan Blue 2006 examines the rationale (the why) for future capabilities (the what), the implementation of this strategy (the how) to achieve the goals in the Plan Blue 2006 vision will be through Plan Green and a new follow on strategy, The Navy Strategy - Charting the Course to 2025.
4. The following sections summarise the key issues facing the Future Navy envisaged in evolving Security and Organisational Environments.
Footnotes
- ↑ The term Future Navy is used throughout Plan Blue and represents the vision of the RAN in 2025.
