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Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld ( @CAF_Australia) speaks to Air Marshal Geoff Brown (retired) of the @WilliamsFnd, about RAAF Strategic Intent and Future Capability. It’s a 3-part video starting with .
This is a sort-of live tweet. This interview was probably shot weeks ago but released on August 3. I'll get through as much as I can tonight.
First let's meet our interviewee. @CAF_Australia joined the RAAF in 1980 and flew Mirages and Hornets, eventually commanding 75SQN during Op Bastille & Falconer over Iraq. He's pictured here w/ Gen Charles Q Brown, who just took the reins at @USAirForce this week.
( @CAF_Australia can also play bagpipes. Extremely worth mentioning).
His interviewer is Air Marshal Geoff Brown, who retired from the Air Force in 2015. He too joined Air Force in 1980, flew tours on the Hornet & was OC of our F111 Wing before heading fighter and transport ops in Op Falconer in Iraq. He was CAF from 2012-15.
Here he is at Ex Pitch Black 98 when he was CO 3 Squadron, with a techo who is absolutely rocking the rolled up sleeves.
This iInterview is in lieu of @CAF_Australia giving keynote address at function this month. He has been in command of Air Force for 12 months.
@CAF_Australia opens by thanking predecessors for their areas of focus – Houston (people), Shepherd (operational), Binskin (operational/capability), Brown (platforms/systems), & Davies (integration).
@CAF_Australia: “When I came into the job, I tried to sit on my hands…this is a great Air Force, don’t break it” Time was spent looking/reviewing at the Air Force (rather than bringing immediate sweeping change)
Focus in that 12mnths: “What’s Air Force’s place in the joint force…& the importance of air power delivery & effects in the joint force (and whole of government)". The next step? “Where we’re going to.”
Brown: Top 5 priorities for RAAF? @CAF_Australia – 1st three key areas are “Enterprise risks – Workforce, ICT, and Infrastructure”. Workforce – develop our skills. ICT – Key part of our warfighting effort w/ Chief of Joint Capability.
Re: ICT, it's “Not just at the high end – it’s (also) in grey zone". And Infrastrucutre: “Ageing infrastructure from across the nation…and we fight from our garrisons”. We deploy aircraft from air bases direct to ops.
Infrastructure not just "permanent bases" but also covers Bare Bases (like Learmonth and Curtin) and mobile basing.
Fourth continuing priority is “our transition”. Halfway through delivering F35As, still delivering P8. More systems to come. “And that (transition) comes back to other things I was talking about – workforce, ICT, infrastructure.”
Fifth Priority: Culture and Behaviour, working in a continuously operating air force, and understanding implications of that in strategic environment.
Brown: Going back to workforce – 5-6yrs ago, it was an area I thought we could extract more capability from – What’s your thoughts on size of Air Force? @CAF_Australia: “It’s probably about the right size now for the capabilities we have”
@CAF_Australia: “I can see a potential for increasing tasking”. Ability to project force/persistence will require increased rates of effort – one key aspect there is workforce to maintain and sustain/repeat.
“If you want more ubiquity/presence, you need more platforms – but if you need more rates of effort, a lot of that is in workforce” (slight para-phrasing).
Looking at strategic environment – to see how circumstances may change – to look at how we may need to increase workforce. Believes there is more work to do in how much we can get out of people.
“Important we need to take advantage of things like AI where it makes sense to do so. We don’t want to be doing mundane number crunching” on finance or other tasks that can then free-up workforce.
Brown: “A lot of our crew ratios were set back in the 1980s in a very different environment”. Says reliability of platforms aren’t the limitation, it’s now crews that are our limits.
@CAF_Australia – Crew ratio for max sustained effort “that’s where we’ll drive home (whether) we have enough.”
Brown: RAAF has been well-positioned for industrial participation – “we’ve always had robust maintenance and repair” and manufacture of F35A parts. Now a move for more manufacturing, how do you see that manifesting?
@CAF_Australia: As long as we maintain rational and deliberate approach to prioritise for it. COVID-19 has demonstrated importance of supply chains – relying heavily on global supply chains, breakdowns there impacts our capability.
@CAF_Australia: As long as we maintain rational and deliberate approach to prioritise for it. COVID-19 has demonstrated importance of supply chains – relying heavily on global supply chains, breakdowns there impacts our capability.
@CAF_Australia “I would welcome any opportunity” to assure our supply chains resident within Australia industry.
@CAF_Australia I would still want to recognise a capability like F35A – exquisite capability – we’d always be looking to US, or KC30A to Europe – we’d be looking to buy those platforms off the shelf
CAF: Where we gain benefit is positioning Australian industry to be part of the supply chains that support those platforms.
CAF: “The F35A program…I started AIR6000 when I was a WGCDR, back in 1998”. His successor began preparing industry for involvement in 2000. “I’d argue that we were too late.”
CAF: F35A has brought $1.7B – (Brown: Potentially up to $5B) – in work for Australian industry. “One thing that’s certain is Defence is not going out of business anytime soon” with uncertainty in strategic environment.
CAF: “What’s our imagination now of collaboration with industry”. Cites Boeing’s Loyal Wingman as an example but is cautious. “I like Loyal Wingman but I’m not after that platform in the glossy brochure – I’m after the systems.”
CAF: “The technology that underpins (Loyal Wingman) – how do we put a self-manoeuvring aircraft around an F35?” USAF and RAF are doing similar work.
Brown: Concept of Loyal Wingman being done “to a cost” is something he likes because it allows risk. @CAF_Australia: “Don’t be mistaken, the Loyal Wingman is not an F35 – it’s not got the capabilities that are resident in an F35”
CAF: Support and operating the Loyal Wingman on missions will be done by live people in accordance with laws of armed conflict. “That’s a lot of work to get done.” Welcomes the Australian industry role here.
CAF: Another part of Australian industry is emerging space domain. “We have to understand what government wants us to achieve” but says industry engagement here is exciting.
CAF: Australian industry involvement on Space can range from Space domain awareness to rocket engines and hypersonics – “limit of our imagination really.”
CAF: On Jericho – Wants One Stars (Air Commodore-level) to be the sponsors of programs here that can be agile and disruptive (Eamon: Have you seen our C-130J Demonstrator? 
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Brown: Back to F35A, one of our planes at Hill AFB (in US) has achieved 1000 flying hours. @CAF_Australia: We’re getting a good understanding of F35 from international customers. Approx 20 in Australia.
CAF: COVID has slowed us down (on deliveries) but mitigations in place and more to come shortly. Still finding ways to deploy people to bring home aircraft.
CAF: COVID may impact F35 IOC but program is coming along very well. “Getting aircraft in hands of operators…allows us to expand the envelope.”
CAF: Infrastructure for F35A is a key marker of success – “SQNs are moving into their new accommodation” w/ ICT & secure spaces – “I compare that to when I first started flying FA18s & we were working from WW2 buildings at Williamtown”
CAF: “We’ve got smart people in the program” and linking to the international community – “It is already a world-leading capability.”
Brown: “So you’ve got a happy bunch of fighter pilots?” @CAF_Australia: “Very.”
CAF: All other fighter crews (Hornet, Super Hornet, Growler) are still very passionate about systems they operate too – “What’s important is seeing how all those systems integrate”.
CAF: “We are integrating our Air Force (eg with Wedgetail) and integrating with Joint Force
Brown: “We both started flying the Hornet in the 90s”, when I left the Hornets looked the same but were a very different platform to the one I started on. That’s what we’ll see with the F35A?
@CAF_Australia: I started flying FA18 in 1986. “We jumped out of the Mirage and straight out of the Hornet, and started operating the Hornet as a Mirage with better weapons. We’re not doing that with F35.”
@CAF_Australia: “We are employing F35A as it’s designed to be employed”. Updates to FA18 throughout its life kept it contemporary – esp against threats it might face – has placed us well to deliver F35A
Brown: 100-year anniversary of Air Force in 2021 – have had to slide Avalon because of COVID – insight into what’s planned? @CAF_Australia: Avalon was (originally) going to be the curtain raiser.
CAF: Major celebration on March 31st (Air Force Birthday) with Colours Parade and new Colour for Air Force (COVID restrictions notwithstanding) followed by regional events.
CAF: “Throughout that year, looking to honour the service and sacrifice of those who came before us, and showcase current capabilities” and demonstrate transition to future force – “What will Air Force look like in next 100 years”.
Eamon: OK, CAF might have said something about ten C-17As in RAAF, earlier in conversation that’s been subsequently edited out, because he’s correcting himself to say we only have 8. Nice bit of banter about how “ten would be nice”.
CAF circles back around to platforms vs workforce balance. We have to prioritise capability (using “more C17As” as an example) in terms of how we balance the force.
CAF: We have 8x C17As, 12 C130Js, 10x C27Js – using Air Mobility as an example, the way we increase capacity (of that fleet) of can be through increasing workforce. Crew ratios are important part of capacity moving forward.
OK, that's the first video of this interview covered, and it took me a little longer than expected. I might re-attack Part 2 tomorrow night (that video is longer). Til then!
