Australian Defence Force - Assessment of Capabilities

Assessment of Capabilities

The ADF's capabilities enable it to carry out a range of tasks. The size of the force that the government can deploy differs according to the likelihood of high-intensity combat and the distance from Australia. In overall terms, Dr. Mark Thomson of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute assesses the ADF's size and capability as being typical for a Western nation with Australia's economic and population base.

The ADF has probably the most capable air and naval capabilities in the South-East Asia region. However, the small size of the Army and the age of much of the RAN and RAAF's equipment constrains Australia's ability to make large-scale deployments or engage in high-intensity combat. The ADF's personnel shortages may also limit its ability to quickly conduct new deployments.

The ADF is highly capable of defeating direct attacks on Australia by conventional forces, though such attacks are highly improbable at present. The ADF's intelligence gathering capabilities should enable it to detect any attacking force before it reaches Australia. Once detected, the RAN and RAAF would be able to defeat the attacking force while it was still in Australia's maritime approaches. The Army and RAAF are also capable of defeating small raiding forces once they are detected. The ADF currently maintains sufficient forces to meet its domestic security and counter-terrorism responsibilities.

The RAN and RAAF are capable of deploying significant numbers of capable ships and aircraft, these forces are large and modern enough to operate independently in a high-threat environment and would typically make up a small part of a larger international coalition force. Due to its relatively small size the Army's capability for high intensity warfare is more limited than that of the other services.

As a result of these limitations, the ADF is capable of providing only relatively small, but high-quality, 'niche' forces for high intensity warfare. Such forces include the Navy's submarines, the Army's special forces and the RAAF's Orion aircraft. However, the ADF's logistic capabilities are insufficient to independently supply such forces deployed in areas distant from Australia. As a result, the ADF can only contribute forces to high intensity warfare outside of Australia's region when larger coalition partners provide logistical support.

The ADF is highly capable of undertaking peacekeeping operations around the world. The Navy's frigates and transport ships, the Army's light infantry battalions and the RAAF's transport aircraft are well-suited to peacekeeping. The ADF has the capability to undertake peacekeeping and low-intensity warfare operations independently in Australia's region and can sustain such deployments for a lengthy period. It is also capable of leading international peacekeeping forces in the Asia-Pacific region and the ADF is capable of defending and invading all of its Pacific neighbours and countries to the north such as the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, although the probability of this is very small with the exception of Fiji.